21Shares has renamed its Ethereum and Polkadot ETFs to make staking a selling point. The funds now trade as the 21Shares Ethereum Staking ETF and the 21Shares Polkadot Staking ETF, a change disclosed in five 8-K filings on August 25. The same filings show a shift in pricing from CF Benchmarks to FTSE indices, effective Thursday, and a move to quarterly fee collection.
Staking becomes the headline
The Ethereum fund had already been staking ether since earlier this year and publishes a reward schedule, so the name change matches reality. Polkadot now joins the staking club in name. The Bitcoin ETF with ARK Invest, along with the XRP and Dogecoin ETFs, kept their original names.
New price benchmarks
Starting August 27, all five 21Shares funds will use FTSE indices for pricing, replacing CF Benchmarks rates. The move follows the end of 21Shares' CF Benchmarks license. The CME-branded rates expire for these funds on August 31. BlackRock's IBIT and ETHB still use CME CF rates, so the two issuers are now on different pricing rails.
Fee schedule tightens
21Shares will collect its sponsor fee at least quarterly instead of weekly, and it will take payments in coins. That's a small operational change, but it aligns with the staking revenue model, where rewards accrue in the underlying asset.
The staking crowd
21Shares isn't alone. Fidelity has filed to stake FETH's ether, paying holders quarterly cash and letting investors keep 85% of rewards, with the remaining 15% going to fees. BlackRock launched its staked ETH fund, ETHB, back on February 18, while its original spot ETH fund still doesn't stake. Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo cut its Bitcoin fund stake by 94% and tripled its staked-Ethereum position in the last quarter, a clear sign of where institutional money is leaning.
But staking carries a specific risk: staked ether can take weeks to exit a crowded withdrawal queue. That means redemption delays are possible for holders of staked ETFs, something the other funds don't face. It's a trade-off between yield and liquidity, and the market will see how it plays out.
