Episode Details

In around four weeks after its listing, BlackRock's iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB) had gathered roughly $450M in assets — which BlackRock itself calls a "top-quintile" launch.

We're stoked to welcome Matt Kunke, CFA — Director and US iShares Digital Assets ETFs Product Strategist at BlackRock — to the CFB Talks Digital Assets podcast for a deep dive on what ETHB unlocks, why it sits alongside the original Ether ETF (ETHA) rather than replacing it, and how staking actually works inside an ETP wrapper.

CF Benchmarks is the index provider for BlackRock's IBIT, ETHA and ETHB - so this conversation gets technical fast, but Matt is at his lucid best throughout.

A sample of what's in store:

• Why BlackRock built ETHB as a separate product instead of converting ETHA — and the reasoning behind giving investors choice
• The "collateralized bond" mental model for proof-of-stake, and why correlated slashing — the tail risk everyone names — has never actually happened
• How ETHB manages its stated 70%–95% staking range, the entry queue currently sitting at ~50 days, and why the exit queue is the one that really matters
• The Lido stETH precedent: why sophisticated market actors should keep ETHB-style products at-or-near NAV even in stressed environments
• Where staking yields are headed post-Pectra, the floor mechanics, and why the glide path is gradual rather than abrupt
• ETH + staking rewards — how wealth advisors and hedge funds are actually framing the trade
• Why ETH's wirehouse approval trajectory looks today the way IBIT's did roughly nine months ago

Grab your beverage of choice and dive in!

Recorded April 2026.

Chapters

00:00 – Intro & Welcome: Matt Kunke from BlackRock

02:00 – A Top-Quintile Launch: ETHB Hits $450M in Under Four Weeks

04:15 – A New Product, Not an ETHA Conversion

06:14 – TradFi Demand vs. Crypto-Native Sentiment

08:29 – Tax & The Case for Keeping an Unstaked Option

09:08 – Staking 101: The Collateralized Bond Mental Model

11:24 – Three Staking Providers & the Correlated Slashing Defense

13:23 – Slashing in Practice

14:42 – Why 32 ETH? Pectra's Move to 2048 and Validator Consolidation

16:11 – Inside the 70%–95% Staking Range

18:25 – Why Lido's stETH Says Staking Discounts Stay Tight

20:54 – The 50-Day Entry Queue vs. the Empty Exit Queue

23:24 – Genesis of ETHB: Regulation & International Precedent

25:13 – ETH + Staking Rewards: How Investors Frame the Trade

26:31 – The Ethereum Thesis: Lindy, Liveness & Institutional Use Cases

28:59 – Inside Staking Yields: Issuance, Fees & The Gentle Glide Path

33:18 – What's Next: Basis Trades, Covered Calls & Modulated Risk

35:53 – Bitcoin's Bias & ETH's Wirehouse Approval Trajectory

38:24 – Closing Remarks