The staking wave sweeps the crypto market, with Ethereum becoming the focus.

In 1688, captains in London often gathered at Edward Lloyd's coffee house to seek individuals willing to insure their voyages. Wealthy merchants would sign their names below the ship information, becoming "underwriters," backing these high-risk maritime ventures with their personal fortunes.

The higher the underwriter's reputation, the safer the voyage. The safer the system, the more business it can attract. This is a simple trading model: provide capital, reduce overall risk, and then share profits.

A deep dive into the new regulations from the U.S. SEC reveals that cryptocurrency is essentially a digitization of this ancient model: people take on risks with their assets to gain returns, thereby enhancing the overall security and credibility of the system.

The staking mechanism has once again become the focus of the market.

On May 29, 2025, an important turning point arrives. The U.S. government clearly states that staking will not lead to legal issues. The significance of this is self-evident.

In the staking mechanism, users lock up tokens to enhance network security and receive stable returns. Validators use the staked tokens to validate transactions, generate new blocks, and ensure the normal operation of the blockchain. In return, the network pays them newly minted tokens and transaction fees.

If there are no stakers, proof-of-stake networks like Ethereum will not be able to operate.

Previously, although tokens could be staked, no one could be sure whether the SEC would suddenly intervene and claim that this was an unregistered securities issuance. This regulatory uncertainty has left many institutions on the sidelines, while retail stakers are earning annual yields of 3%-8%.

The Wave of Large-Scale Staking is Coming

On July 3rd, the first fund in the United States to provide direct exposure to cryptocurrency with staking rewards officially launched. The fund holds SOL tokens through a subsidiary in the Cayman Islands and will stake at least half of its holdings.

This is just the beginning. Many platforms are launching or expanding their stake services:

• A well-known trading application has launched cryptocurrency staking services for American users, initially supporting Ethereum and Solana.
• A trading platform has added Bitcoin staking functionality through the Babylon protocol.
• VeChain launched a $15 million "StarGate" stake program.
• Bit Digital even sold off all of its Bitcoin mining operations to focus on Ethereum staking.

What exactly has changed?

The Chain Reaction Brought by Clarified Regulations

First, there are the staking guidelines issued by the SEC in May 2025. These guidelines clarify that if the staking of one's own cryptocurrency is to support the operation of the blockchain, such behavior is completely compliant and not considered a high-risk investment or security. This includes personal staking, entrusting others to stake, and staking through trusted platforms, as long as it directly contributes to network operation. This excludes most staking activities from the definition of "investment contracts" as defined by the "Howey test."

Secondly, there is the "CLARITY Act." This proposal in the U.S. Congress aims to clarify the regulatory attribution of different digital assets. The act specifically protects node operators, stake participants, and self-custody wallet users, ensuring they are not considered Wall Street brokers. The act introduces a new category of "investment contract assets," clarifying the standards for digital assets to be classified as securities or commodities, and establishes a "maturity" assessment mechanism for blockchain projects or tokens.

This means that American investors can now participate in cryptocurrency staking with more confidence. If the CLARITY Act is passed, everyone intending to participate in staking or cryptocurrency investment will welcome a clearer and safer operational environment.

It is important to note that staking income is taxed as ordinary income when "dominion and control" is obtained; subsequent sales that realize profit are subject to capital gains tax. All staking income, regardless of the amount, must be reported to the IRS.

Who will be the focus? Ethereum

Despite Ethereum's price remaining around $2500, its staking data is quite impressive. The total amount of staked ETH has exceeded 35 million, reaching a historical high and accounting for nearly 30% of the total circulating supply. Although the relevant infrastructure has been under construction for several months, its strategic value is now experiencing explosive growth with the clarification of regulations.

Corporate Trends

Many companies are actively laying out ETH stake:

• BitMine Immersion Technologies completed a $250 million financing, specifically for purchasing and staking ETH.
• SharpLink Gaming has expanded its ETH reserves to 198,167 coins and achieved 100% staking.
• Multiple Ethereum ETF issuers are applying for stake qualifications.

Bloomberg analysts predict that there is a 95% chance that the staking ETF will receive regulatory approval within the next few months. The head of digital assets at a major asset management company believes that the staking mechanism will be a "disruptive turning point" for Ether ETFs.

If approved, these types of stake ETFs are expected to reverse the trend of fund outflows from Ethereum funds since their inception. When investors can obtain both price exposure and stake returns simultaneously, a single price volatility return may be difficult to meet demand.

The Integration of Cryptocurrency and Traditional Finance

For a long time, the traditional financial sector has struggled to fully understand the value proposition of cryptocurrencies. However, the concept of "yield" is something Wall Street is definitely familiar with. Although bond yields have rebounded from their lows in 2020, with the 1-year U.S. Treasury yield returning to around 4%, imagine a regulated crypto fund that can generate a staking yield of 3-5% annually while also providing the potential for appreciation of the underlying assets; this undoubtedly presents a powerful appeal.

The key lies in the breakthrough of legitimacy. When pension funds can gain exposure to Ether through compliant ETFs, while generating returns by ensuring network security, this is undoubtedly a milestone for the industry.

The network effect is beginning to show: More institutions participate in staking → Network security improves → Attracts more users and developers → Application scale expands, driving up transaction fees → Staking rewards further increase. This is a virtuous cycle that benefits all participants.

For investors, there is no need to deeply understand blockchain technology or believe in the concept of decentralization; one only needs to grasp the simple logic that "holding assets can yield profits". There is no requirement to adhere to specific economic schools of thought or to question the existing financial system; it is sufficient to understand the value of "productive capital assets". Essentially, the network requires security assurances, and the guardians should receive reasonable compensation.