The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have approved new rules that allow for the staking of digital assets by cryptocurrency trusts and exchange-traded products without jeopardizing their tax status.
This is reported by Finway
New Regulatory Standards for Crypto Asset Staking
Recently, the guidelines of Revenue Procedure 2025-31, approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS, came into effect. According to these guidelines, cryptocurrency trusts and exchange-traded products (ETPs) can now legally participate in staking, earning profits from digital assets. This poses no risk of losing the tax status of investment or grantor trusts. These changes effectively create conditions for the widespread adoption of staking in the country’s regulated financial products.
“Today, the Treasury and IRS published new guidelines that provide cryptocurrency ETPs with a clear path to staking digital assets and distributing rewards among investors. This step enhances benefits for investors, stimulates innovation, and maintains America’s status as a global leader in digital assets and blockchain technology,” wrote Bessent on X.
Conditions for Safe Staking and Market Impact
Under the new rules, trusts are permitted to stake assets such as Ethereum or other cryptocurrencies that operate on a Proof-of-Stake algorithm, provided they adhere to a special “safe harbor” regime. Consensys attorney Bill Hughes explained that trusts must meet several requirements:
- hold only one type of digital asset and cash;
- ensure key management and staking through a qualified custodian;
- maintain liquidity as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for seamless redemption even of staked assets;
- have independent relationships with third-party staking providers;
- limit their activities to storage, staking, and redemption of assets, without engaging in speculative trading.
According to Hughes, the new “safe harbor” regime creates the long-awaited regulatory and tax certainty for institutional investment products such as crypto ETFs and trusts. It removes the main legal barriers that previously hindered the adoption of staking in regulated financial products. Hughes emphasized that this policy will contribute to an increase in the number of staking participants, enhance liquidity and decentralization of networks, and solidify staking as a legitimate and conservative profit-generating strategy for American investors. He also added that Revenue Procedure 2025-31 shifts staking from the realm of regulatory risks to a tax-recognized and institutionally acceptable practice.
It is noteworthy that the implementation of the new rules coincided with the launch of the first spot ETFs with staking in the U.S. On September 25, 2025, REX Shares and Osprey Funds listed the country’s first spot Ethereum ETF with staking — the REX-Osprey ETH Staking ETF (ESK), which allows shareholders to receive a portion of the rewards for staking assets by the trust. Additionally, Bitwise Asset Management announced the start of trading for the Solana ETF with staking (BSOL) on October 28, while funds based on Litecoin and Hedera from Canary Capital and a convertible trust based on Solana from Grayscale also entered the market on the same day.