The U.S. Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have officially approved staking for crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking a historic turning point for digital asset investing.
The new guidance, issued under Revenue Procedure 2025-31, allows ETFs and trusts holding proof-of-stake (PoS) assets such as Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) to stake their holdings and distribute staking rewards directly to investors, without jeopardizing their tax status.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the advances as a major step in keeping the U.S. at the forefront of blockchain innovation.
Industry experts hailed the decision as the final piece of regulatory clarity needed to unlock institutional participation in staking. Analysts estimate the change could bring $3 billion to $6 billion in new inflows to staking-based crypto products within the next year.
To qualify under the new framework, ETFs must meet specific conditions. Funds can only hold a single digital asset and cash, work with qualified custodians for key management, and engage independent staking providers to handle validator operations.
Bill Hughes, senior counsel at Consensys, said the policy “eliminates the biggest legal and tax uncertainty that kept institutions from integrating staking into regulated products.”
The guidance, he added, gives fund sponsors confidence to offer yield-bearing ETFs that generate passive income for investors through network validation.
Until now, U.S. fund managers had avoided staking due to regulatory ambiguity and fear of losing favorable tax treatment. With this guidance, both retail and institutional investors can earn 3–7% annual staking rewards on assets like ETH and SOL through ETFs, without running their own nodes or managing wallets.
Analysts believe this decision cements America’s position as a global leader in digital asset regulation, potentially sparking a new wave of staking-enabled ETFs from financial giants like BlackRock and Fidelity.
Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
