VanEck Cancels Plans for Lido Staked Ethereum ETF

Asset management company VanEck has requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to withdraw the registration of the proposed ETF for Lido Staked Ethereum – a fund designed to hold the stETH token and earn staking rewards for Ethereum. The corresponding statement from VanEck Digital Assets was submitted on October 14, almost a year after the initial registration on October 16, 2025. The document was signed by Matthew A. Babinski, Vice President of VanEck Digital Assets, registration number – 333-290918.

The company stated that it "does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution" of the fund's shares and confirmed that the securities were neither issued nor sold, and the preliminary prospectus was not distributed to investors. The registration never became effective, so the fund did not commence operations as a publicly offered ETF, and no redemption of investments from existing shareholders is required. The statement was filed under Rule 477 of the Securities Act of 1933, which allows for the withdrawal of registrations with the regulator's consent. The reasons for the withdrawal and plans for a replacement product were not disclosed. The withdrawal only concerns the Lido ETF, not other VanEck crypto funds.

The fund was supposed to hold stETH – a liquid staking token of the Lido protocol, tracking its price minus operational expenses. Unlike spot Ethereum ETFs holding ETH, this product would own tokens representing Ethereum already staked in the Lido system. The rebasing mechanism allows holders to receive additional stETH over time as rewards accrue. The benchmark was developed by MarketVector, an affiliated structure of VanEck; the fund was conceived as a passive instrument without attempts to predict the market. The prospectus mentioned risks of validator penalties, smart contracts, liquidity, and changes in Ethereum's value.

Previously, the Lido Ecosystem Foundation welcomed the application: Keen Gilbert, head of institutional relations, called it a sign of growing interest in staking products for institutions. According to Lido, users have earned over $2 billion in rewards since launch, and the protocol's TVL in October 2025 was estimated at nearly $40 billion. After the registration of the VanEck trust, the governance token LDO gained about 7%. However, the fund would have held stETH, not LDO.