Turning Points and the Future: Staking and Institutional Prospects

What changes have occurred in the past few months? The restructuring of the leadership at the Ethereum Foundation may have played a role. At the end of April, the Ethereum Foundation underwent a leadership reorganization, separating the board from the management. The new leadership has clarified three main priorities: expanding the Ethereum base layer, improving Layer 2 rollups, and enhancing the user experience.
The practicality and yield-generating ability of Ethereum make it highly attractive to investors. Currently, US ETFs do not offer staking rewards because the US Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved them. If an Ethereum ETF is eventually approved to provide staking services, Ethereum could become a "digital bond" in institutional portfolios. An ETF that supports staking could bring a native yield of 3-5%, and with the current holdings of $19 billion, an average yield of 4% could generate over $750 million in staking income for the ETF issuer.
BlackRock has begun exploring structures that include staking and submitted a revised 19b-4 filing that explicitly mentions staking as a "potential future feature," but it awaits regulatory approval. Experts predict that ETF staking may be approved in the last quarter of this year. Market making and trading firm Wintermute pointed out last year that the lack of a staking mechanism undermines Ethereum's appeal as an ETF tool. If the macro environment changes, Ethereum's scarcity, staking yields, and the accessibility of ETFs and custody will make it a very attractive option. Ethereum's price has risen in sync with institutional activity, surging over 50% in the past two weeks, reaching a new high for 2025, with a cumulative increase of 150% over the past three months. When an ETF issues new shares, it must purchase Ethereum, which will lock up supply, reduce the available Ethereum in the market, and drive up prices. Treasury builders are positioning Ethereum as programmable collateral—a type of asset that can generate yields, provide security, and be held long-term. Recent price trends of Ethereum.
In addition, the macro environment is favorable: the GENIUS Act has been signed into law, legalizing stablecoins as digital cash. Ethereum, as the dominant blockchain network with a 50% market share, will be the biggest beneficiary.
The share of stablecoins in various public chains #AllInDoge