Today in crypto: BlackRock has filed for regulatory approval to launch a staked Ether exchange-traded fund in the United States. Coinbase has reopened app registrations in India after a rocky exit more than two years ago, and ZKsync Lite is set to sunset in 2026.
BlackRock files for listing staked Ether ETF
US-based asset management company BlackRock has applied to list and trade shares of an investment vehicle tied to staked Ether, following its offering of other cryptocurrency products.
In a Friday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, BlackRock filed a Form S-1 registration statement for its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust exchange-traded fund. The filing is part of the SEC’s process for companies to list investment vehicles such as ETFs, but does not guarantee approval.
Shares of the staked Ether (ETH) fund, which BlackRock intends to list and trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker ETHB, could be one of the first offerings tied to staked cryptocurrencies. Grayscale Investments added staking functionality to its previously approved spot ETH and mini ETH trusts in October.
The regulator has not greenlighted many crypto staking funds since initially approving spot Ether ETFs in May 2024. However, Canary Capital made a similar SEC filing for a staked Injective (INJ) product in July, and Grayscale and Bitwise launched separate staking products tied to Solana (SOL) in October.
BlackRock manages the largest spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which is listed under the ticker symbol IBIT.
Coinbase mounts a cautious comeback in India, two years after exit
Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is returning to India after a two-year absence from the market.
Coinbase has resumed app registrations in India as it prepares to roll out local fiat on-ramps in 2026, Coinbase APAC director John O’Loghlen announced at India Blockchain Week (IBW), according to a Sunday report by TechCrunch.
Coinbase’s return to India comes more than two years after it ceased local services in September 2023, following a troubled debut of its local exchange launched in 2022.
“We had millions of customers in India, historically, and we took a very clear stance to off-board those customers entirely from overseas entities, where they were domiciled and regulated. Because we wanted to kind of burn the boats, have a clean slate here,” O’Loghlen said.
As Coinbase resumes customer onboarding in India, users can immediately execute crypto-to-crypto trades, according to the report by TechCrunch.
The exchange initially began onboarding users through an early-access program in October, around the time it hired Karan Malik as its India marketing lead.
Malik had previously overseen marketing for last year’s IBW event, where Coinbase served as a platinum sponsor this year.
“Last year, I was leading the charge and building the marketing and brand playbook for IBW. This year, I’m bringing Coinbase to the party,” the exec said.
When approached by Cointelegraph about its relaunch in India, a Coinbase spokesperson said the exchange’s FIU registration in March allows it to offer crypto trading services in the country. The representative declined to provide further details at this time.
Ethereum’s first ZK-rollup, ZKsync Lite, to sunset in 2026
The first-ever zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup network to launch on Ethereum, ZKsync Lite, will have a “planned, orderly sunset” next year, as its creator, ZKsync, says it has “served its purpose.
It added that ZKsync Lite “was a groundbreaking proof-of-concept and validated critical ideas related to building production ZK systems,” and it “did its job: prove what’s possible and pave the way for the next generation.”
Technology company Matter Labs launched the network, then called ZKsync 1.0, in 2020, designing it for fast transfers and minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but its use was limited as it didn’t support smart contracts.
Development on ZKsync Lite stopped in early 2023 after Matter Labs launched its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) that supported smart contracts, ZKsync Era.
ZKsync’s other products will not be affected, and it added that it would share “concrete details, dates, and migration guidance soon” for ZKsync Lite.