Asset manager VanEck has asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to withdraw its proposed Lido Staked Ethereum ETF registration, ending plans for a fund designed to hold Lido’s stETH token and earn Ethereum staking rewards.
Summary
- VanEck requested withdrawal of its proposed Lido Staked Ethereum ETF through an October 14 SEC filing.
- The asset manager originally submitted its registration statement on October 16, 2025, seeking regulated stETH exposure.
- VanEck confirmed the proposed fund never issued shares, sold securities, or distributed a preliminary prospectus.
- The planned ETF would have held Lido stETH while accumulating rewards generated through Ethereum staking.
- The withdrawal request gave no detailed explanation for ending the offering or announcing replacement fund plans.
VanEck Digital Assets confirmed the decision in an October 14 filing, nearly one year after submitting the original registration statement on October 16, 2025. The company said it no longer intends to offer shares in the proposed fund and confirmed that no securities were issued or sold. The filing did not disclose what prompted the decision.
VanEck withdraws Lido staked Ethereum ETF plans
The withdrawal request concerns the VanEck Lido Staked Ethereum ETF, a proposed investment product that would have allowed investors to gain exposure to Ethereum staking through shares held in traditional brokerage accounts.
In its filing, VanEck Digital Assets asked the SEC to withdraw the fund’s registration statement, including its subsequent amendments and supporting exhibits.
The company submitted the request under Rule 477 of the Securities Act of 1933. The rule provides a procedure for withdrawing certain securities registration statements with the regulator’s consent.
VanEck explained that it “does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution” of the fund’s shares.
The asset manager confirmed that the registration statement had never become effective. It stated that no shares had been issued or sold and that investors had not received a preliminary prospectus.
As a result, the proposed fund never began operating as a publicly offered ETF. No existing shareholders need to redeem investments because the offering did not proceed.
The filing requested that the SEC approve the withdrawal effective October 14 or at the earliest practicable date afterward.
VanEck did not identify a replacement investment product or explain whether it intends to return with another ETF linked to Lido’s staking tokens.
The document was signed by Matthew A. Babinsky, vice president of VanEck Digital Assets, and submitted under registration number 333-290918.
What would VanEck’s Ethereum ETF have offered?
VanEck originally filed its registration statement on October 16, 2025, proposing an ETF that would hold stETH, the liquid staking token issued through the Lido protocol.
The fund’s investment objective was to track the price of stETH after accounting for operating expenses.
Unlike conventional spot Ethereum ETFs that primarily hold ETH, VanEck’s proposed product would have held tokens representing Ethereum already deposited into Lido’s staking system.
Staking allows participants to help secure Ethereum’s network and receive rewards for supporting its transaction validation process.
Through Lido, users can deposit ETH and receive stETH representing their underlying deposits and accumulated staking rewards.
The token uses a rebasing mechanism, meaning holders can receive additional stETH over time as the underlying Ethereum staking position earns rewards.
VanEck’s original prospectus explained that the fund expected to accrue certain staking rewards through its ownership of stETH.
However, those rewards were not guaranteed. The filing described risks involving validator penalties, smart contracts, liquidity and changes in the market value of Ethereum.
The proposed ETF would have tracked stETH through a benchmark developed by MarketVector, an affiliate of the asset manager.
VanEck intended to operate the product as a passive investment vehicle. Its prospectus said the fund would not attempt to predict market movements or actively trade stETH to avoid losses.
The original registration left certain operational details unfinished, including the proposed exchange ticker and named custodians.
The fund was therefore still in the registration process when VanEck decided to abandon the planned offering.
Lido welcomed VanEck’s original ETF application
VanEck’s withdrawal follows an earlier announcement from the Lido ecosystem supporting the proposed investment product.
In October 2025, the Lido Ecosystem Foundation welcomed the original ETF application, describing the proposal as an opportunity to bring liquid staking exposure into traditional investment markets.
Kean Gilbert, head of institutional relations at the foundation, said the filing showed growing interest in staking products that could meet institutional investment requirements.
He described liquid staking as an important part of Ethereum’s infrastructure and pointed to Lido’s existing role in providing staking services.
At the time, Lido reported that users had earned more than $2 billion in staking rewards through its protocol since launch.
The organization placed the total value locked in the protocol near $40 billion in its October 2025 announcement. The figure represented the protocol’s position at that time, not a current valuation.
The earlier VanEck ETF application linked to Lido’s staked Ether followed the company’s October registration of the proposed trust.
An earlier Lido price rally following VanEck’s trust registration saw the LDO governance token gain approximately 7%, with trading activity increasing after the initial announcement.
However, LDO and stETH serve different purposes. LDO is the governance token associated with the Lido protocol, while stETH represents Ethereum deposited into the staking system.
VanEck’s proposed fund would have held stETH, not LDO.
The October 14 withdrawal filing provided no market data or explanation linking the decision to either token’s price performance.
SEC had previously clarified rules for liquid staking
The abandoned ETF proposal followed regulatory guidance addressing certain cryptocurrency staking activities in the United States.
In August 2025, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance published a staff statement examining whether particular liquid staking arrangements involved securities transactions.
The guidance explained that certain activities involving the deposit of crypto assets and issuance of staking receipt tokens may fall outside federal securities registration requirements, depending on their structure.
The SEC staff distinguished administrative staking services from arrangements involving managerial or entrepreneurial efforts that could create investment contracts.
The statement did not provide blanket approval for all liquid staking products or automatically authorize ETFs holding staking tokens.
As covered in earlier reporting on the SEC’s liquid staking guidance, the staff’s position applied to arrangements meeting specific conditions.
VanEck’s October 2025 prospectus discussed the guidance and stated that the sponsor believed its planned staking activities were consistent with the SEC staff’s interpretation.
The prospectus acknowledged that a different regulatory interpretation could create legal risks for the proposed fund and its service providers.
VanEck had pursued other staking-related investment products during the same period.
In August 2025, the company submitted a registration statement for a proposed ETF linked to JitoSOL, a liquid staking token associated with the Solana network.
The earlier VanEck JitoSOL ETF application sought exposure to staked Solana through a traditional investment structure.
The October 14 withdrawal concerns the Lido Staked Ethereum ETF registration specifically. The document does not request withdrawal of VanEck’s other cryptocurrency fund applications.
The original Lido ETF application remains identifiable through SEC registration number 333-290918. VanEck’s latest filing asks the regulator to withdraw that registration statement and its amendments under Rule 477, confirming that the planned securities offering never became effective.
