TLDR
- Ether treasuries need to explore liquid staking and active yield strategies to stay competitive in the market.
- Lido’s Kean Gilbert emphasized the importance of liquid staking for Ether treasuries to outperform passive staking products.
- Liquid staking allows Ether holders to earn staking rewards while maintaining flexibility in decentralized finance.
- Ethereum ETFs offer passive investment options, but Ether treasury firms can attract more investors with active strategies.
- Sharplink Gaming and BTCS Inc. are using liquid staking strategies to generate higher returns from their Ether holdings.
Ether treasuries may need to adopt liquid staking and other active yield strategies to outperform passive staking products. Kean Gilbert, head of institutional relations at Lido, shared this insight during a conversation at ETHCC 2026. He emphasized that Ether treasury firms seeking to generate higher returns might need to consider more dynamic strategies beyond traditional staking rewards.
Liquid Staking Opens New Avenues for Ether Treasuries
Liquid staking allows Ether holders to stake their assets while still receiving a transferable token. These tokens can be deployed elsewhere in decentralized finance (DeFi), offering greater flexibility and yield potential. Gilbert noted that strategies such as posting Ether as collateral to borrow assets could generate higher returns than passive staking products. This approach could provide treasury firms with the edge needed to stand out in a competitive market.
While liquid staking opens up new opportunities, its adoption is still growing. Gilbert stated, “Treasury companies can’t rely solely on passive staking for growth. They need to explore dynamic, active strategies to attract investors.” By integrating such approaches, firms can offer more compelling value propositions, helping them differentiate from passive products available through Ether ETFs.
Several Ethereum-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are currently available on the market, such as the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF and BlackRock’s iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF. These products offer investors exposure to Ethereum’s staking rewards in a passive investment vehicle. As of April 2026, Grayscale’s ETHE ETF reported a net staking yield of 2.26%, while Grayscale’s ETH page listed 2.56%. Native ETH staking is currently offering around 2.72%, according to Staking Rewards.
Despite these figures, Jimmy Xue, co-founder and COO of Axis, argued that Ether treasury companies do not need to beat staking yields from ETFs directly. Xue pointed out that a staked Ether ETF is a passive vehicle. “A DAT trading at a meaningful mNAV premium offers something a passive ETF can’t: the active management of treasury resources,” he said. By implementing basis trading and active deployment strategies, Ether treasuries can leverage more dynamic market opportunities.
Ether Treasury Firms Experiment with Liquid Staking
Public filings from several Ether treasury firms reveal their interest in liquid staking strategies. Sharplink Gaming, for instance, reported generating 14,516 ETH in staking rewards as of March 2026. Of this total, 33% came from liquid staking, with the remaining 66% from native staking. Despite facing a net loss of $734 million in 2025, largely due to the market downturn, Sharplink continues to explore active yield strategies.
Similarly, BTCS Inc., a smaller Ether treasury company, has adopted liquid staking through Rocket Pool. The firm has liquid staked 4,160 ETH, valued at $8.8 million, according to a July 2025 SEC filing. These examples reflect a broader trend among Ether treasury companies using liquid staking to enhance returns and stay competitive in the evolving crypto market.
