VanEck Digital Assets has moved to withdraw its registration for a proposed Lido Staked Ethereum ETF, bringing the yearlong application process to a close. The company submitted its request to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), abandoning plans for a listed investment product that would have offered brokerage clients exposure to staked Ether.
The filing asks the SEC to remove the registration statement, its amendments, and supporting exhibits under Rule 477 of the Securities Act of 1933. It references registration number 333-290918 and follows VanEck’s original S-1 submission on October 16, 2025.
VanEck stated that it no longer intends to proceed with distributing shares of the proposed fund. The company also confirmed that the registration statement had not become effective, no securities had been issued or sold under it, and no preliminary prospectus had been distributed.
Since the ETF never became operational, its cancellation does not involve investor redemptions or the liquidation of fund holdings. No shareholders need to exit the product, and there are no underlying assets to sell to meet withdrawal requests. VanEck asked the SEC to make the withdrawal effective on October 14 or at the earliest possible date afterward.
The planned ETF would have held stETH, Lido’s liquid-staking token, rather than LDO, the protocol’s governance token. The proposed strategy aimed to track stETH’s price performance after expenses while accounting for staking rewards through a passive structure based on a MarketVector benchmark.
Although institutional demand and ETF flows remain important to Ethereum’s investment market, VanEck’s decision means the proposed product will not add another listed option for investors seeking liquid-staking exposure. Broader market activity offers context, but the withdrawal filing does not establish the reason behind the decision.
How the Proposed Lido Staked ETH ETF Would Have Worked
Lido enables users to stake Ether through its protocol and receive stETH in return. The token represents their underlying staking position and associated rewards. Its rebasing mechanism can increase the token balance as staking rewards accrue.
Unlike a conventional spot Ether fund, the proposed ETF would have held stETH and exposed investors to the characteristics of liquid staking. Its performance could therefore have been affected by differences between stETH and ETH pricing, as well as the operational risks associated with the underlying protocol.
VanEck’s prospectus identified several potential risks, including validator penalties, smart-contract vulnerabilities, liquidity constraints, and changes in Ethereum’s market value. These factors could have influenced the fund’s returns and the value of its holdings.
In August 2025, SEC staff issued a statement discussing certain liquid-staking activities and distinguishing qualifying arrangements from those involving managerial or entrepreneurial efforts. The guidance was conditional and did not automatically authorize ETFs holding liquid-staking tokens.
Ethereum continues to undergo technical development, including testing related to its gas limit. However, network improvements alone do not settle the regulatory questions or eliminate the investment risks outlined in the proposed fund’s documentation.
Lido Had Welcomed VanEck’s Proposal in 2025
The Lido Ecosystem Foundation supported VanEck’s original application in October 2025, presenting it as a potential way to connect liquid staking with traditional investment markets. Kean Gilbert, then identified as the foundation’s head of institutional relations, also highlighted the potential significance of institutional staking products.
At the time, Lido reported that users had earned more than $2 billion in staking rewards since the protocol launched. The foundation also put the protocol’s total value locked at approximately $40 billion.
VanEck has not disclosed whether it plans to revisit a Lido-related ETF or pursue another product linked to staking. For now, the withdrawal ends the existing registration process before the proposed fund could reach investors.
