Introduction
In 1688, captains would gather at Edward Lloyd's coffeehouse in London, looking for those willing to insure their voyages. Wealthy merchants would sign their names under the ship details, becoming 'underwriters,' guaranteeing these high-risk voyages with their personal wealth. The better the underwriter's reputation, the safer it was for everyone. The safer the system, the more business it attracted. It’s simple: provide capital, lower everyone’s risk, and then take a cut of the profits.
Reading the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s new guidelines, it’s clear that cryptocurrency is merely digitizing the mechanism invented by coffeehouse underwriters—people earn returns by putting assets at risk, making the whole system safer and more trustworthy.
Staking. Yes, it’s back on the agenda. On May 29, 2025, everything changed. On this day, the U.S. government made it clear that staking would not get you into legal trouble. First, let’s review why this is so important right now. In staking, you can lock your tokens to help secure the network and earn stable rewards.
Validators use their staked tokens to verify transactions, propose new blocks, and keep the blockchain running smoothly. In return, the network pays them with newly minted tokens and transaction fees. Without stakers, proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum would collapse.
Of course, you can stake your tokens, but no one knows if the SEC will one day come knocking, claiming you are conducting an unregistered securities offering. This regulatory uncertainty leaves many institutions sitting on the sidelines, enviously watching retail stakers earn 3-8% annualized returns.
The great staking rush
On July 3, the Rex-Osprey Solana+ Staking ETF launched, becoming the first fund in the U.S. to offer direct cryptocurrency investment and earn staking rewards. It holds SOL through a Cayman subsidiary and stakes at least half of its holdings. 'The first staking crypto ETF in the U.S.,' Rex Shares announced. And they are not alone.
Robinhood has just launched cryptocurrency staking services for U.S. customers, initially supporting Ethereum and Solana. Kraken has increased Bitcoin staking through the Babylon protocol, allowing users to earn BTC returns while keeping the native chain. VeChain launched a $15 million StarGate staking program. Even Bit Digital has abandoned its entire Bitcoin mining business to focus on Ethereum staking.
What has changed now?
Two regulatory dominoes
First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued staking guidance in May 2025. It stated that if you stake your cryptocurrency to help run a blockchain, that’s perfectly fine and not considered a high-risk investment or security. This covers individual staking, delegating your tokens to others, or staking through trusted exchanges, as long as your staking directly helps the network. This will exempt most staking activities from the 'investment contract' definition under the Howey test. This means you no longer have to worry about accidentally violating complex investment laws just for staking and earning rewards.
The only danger signal here is if someone promises guaranteed profits, especially when mixing staking with lending, or issuing fancy terms like DeFi bundled products, guaranteed returns, or yield farming.
Next is the (CLARITY Act). This is a law proposed in Congress aimed at clarifying which government agency is responsible for different digital assets. Specifically designed to protect those who only run nodes, stake, or use self-custodial wallets, avoiding being treated like Wall Street brokers.
It introduces the concept of 'investment contract assets,' a new category of digital commodity, and establishes standards for determining when digital assets are treated as securities (regulated by the SEC) or as commodities (regulated by the CFTC). The bill sets up a process for determining when a blockchain project or token has 'matured' and can transition from SEC to CFTC regulation, and imposes time limits for SEC reviews to prevent indefinite delays.
So, what does this mean for you?
Thanks to the SEC's guidance, you can now stake your cryptocurrency in the U.S. with more confidence. If the (CLARITY Act) passes, all those wanting to stake or participate in cryptocurrency will have a more convenient and secure experience. Staking rewards are still taxed as ordinary income when you gain 'dominion and control,' and if you sell the rewards for a profit later, you’ll pay capital gains tax. All staking income, regardless of the amount, must be reported to the IRS.
Who becomes the focus? Ethereum.
No, it’s still about $2,500.
Price performance is mediocre, but Ethereum's staking metrics reflect a change. The amount of staked ETH has just hit an all-time high, exceeding 35 million tokens, nearly 30% of the total circulating supply. Although this infrastructure build-up has been ongoing for months, it suddenly becomes particularly important now.
What’s happening in corporate boardrooms?
BitMine Immersion Technologies has just raised $250 million to purchase and stake Ethereum (ETH), with the company chaired by Tom Lee of Fundstrat. Their strategy is to bet that staking rewards plus potential price appreciation will outperform traditional bond assets. SharpLink Gaming further deepened this strategy, expanding its ETH reserve to 198,167 tokens and staking its entire holding. In just one week in June, they earned 102 ETH in staking rewards. Just lock up your tokens to get 'free money.'
Meanwhile, Ethereum ETF issuers are lining up for staking approvals. Bloomberg analysts predict that the chances of staking ETFs receiving regulatory approval in the coming months are as high as 95%. BlackRock’s head of digital assets called staking 'a tremendous advancement' for Ethereum ETFs, and he may be right.
If approved, these staking ETFs could reverse the outflow of funds that has plagued Ethereum funds since their launch. Why settle for price exposure when you can gain both price exposure and yield?
Cryptocurrency speaks Wall Street’s language.
For years, traditional finance has struggled to understand the value proposition of cryptocurrency. Digital gold? Perhaps. Programmable money? Sounds complicated. Decentralized applications? What’s wrong with centralized applications? But yields? Wall Street understands yields. Indeed, bond yields have rebounded from near-zero lows in 2020, with one-year U.S. Treasury yields rising to around 4%. But a regulated cryptocurrency fund that can generate 3-5% annualized staking rewards while also providing potential upside for the underlying asset is just too tempting.
Legitimacy is crucial. When pension funds can buy Ethereum exposure through regulated ETFs and earn returns by securing the network, that’s a big deal. Network effects are starting to show. As more institutions participate in staking, the network becomes more secure. As the network becomes more secure, it attracts more users and developers. As adoption increases, transaction fees will also rise, enhancing staking rewards. It’s a virtuous cycle that benefits all participants.
You don’t need to understand blockchain technology or believe in decentralization to appreciate an asset that yields returns simply for holding it. You don’t need to believe in Austrian economics or distrust central banks to appreciate an asset that serves as productive capital. You just need to understand that networks require security, and those who provide security should rightly earn returns.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Foresight News)
Original title: (Wall Street's Staking Rush)
Original author: Thejaswini M A, Token Dispatch
Translated by: Block unicorn
'SEC nods! Wall Street ignites a crypto staking frenzy, what 5 major trends should you pay attention to?' This article was originally published in 'Crypto City.'
