ETHA Review: iShares Ethereum Trust ETF

ETHA fits investors who want ether exposure as a security and are content to leave storage to the fund’s service providers.

ETHA scores 7.3/10 under CryptoSlate’s Ethereum ETF methodology, version eth-1.1. The assessment uses public fund terms and reported market indicators, with a September 24, 2026 data cutoff.

ETHA scores 10/10 on the custody terms we measure, on reporting and on size, and 9.0 on its spread. Because it does not stake, its overall is 7.3. Our Ethereum method gives staking 20% of the score because it is the one feature that changes what a shareholder earns from the same ether, and a fund that does not stake scores zero on it. A non-staking fund cannot score above 8.0 under this method.

Coinbase and Anchorage can be liable for negligence in safekeeping the trust’s ether, subject to contractual caps and exclusions. Trade-credit liens can still reach custody balances. Those limits do not change the score.

Moving the published spread by 0.01 percentage point in either direction leaves the overall at 7.3/10.

ETHA holds ether so that its shares follow ether’s price, less expenses. It holds the ether itself and uses no futures contracts.

Shareholders own an interest in the trust. They can hold and trade that security but do not control the private keys to its ether.

The trust’s prospectus rules out staking. Neither the trust, the sponsor nor the custodian will use the trust’s ether in staking or to earn any other income, so every return comes from ether’s price.

Benchmark and How to Check Tracking

ETHA values its ether using the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate – New York Variant, from CF Benchmarks. The benchmark combines trades from qualifying ether-dollar markets into a daily reference price aligned with 4:00 pm New York time.

Net asset value, or NAV, is the value of the trust’s assets after liabilities, divided by the number of shares. To check tracking, compare the fund’s NAV return with the benchmark over matching dates. Comparing a closing value with an ether quote from another hour introduces a timing difference that has nothing to do with fees.

A fall in ether’s market price can substantially reduce an ETHA holding. The Nasdaq listing and BlackRock name offer no protection against that decline.

Who Holds ETHA’s Ether?

ETHA names Coinbase Custody Trust Company as its ether custodian. Anchorage Digital Bank was appointed as an additional custodian in 2025.

The report for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 says the sponsor has no plans to move any of the trust’s ether to Anchorage. Its appointment should not be read as an equal split or proof that custody is spread across two firms.

Coinbase also acts as the trust’s prime execution agent. Ether held there for trading is not segregated in the same way as the custody balance, and a trade-credit lien can reach the trust’s ether until any short-term credit is repaid.

Fund Structure and Regulatory Status

ETHA is a Delaware statutory trust and is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Calling it an ETF does not give it the same regulatory framework as a fund registered under that act.

The sponsor fee is one part of what ETHA costs. Buying and selling the shares adds costs of their own.

Applying 0.25% to a hypothetical $10,000 held at a constant value for a full year gives $25. Your costs move with the value of the holding, and trading costs come on top.

BlackRock cut the fee to 0.12% on the first $2.5 billion of assets for the fund’s first 12 months, from July 23, 2024. That waiver has ended, and the full 0.25% applies now.

ETHA trades on Nasdaq. Brokerage access varies by account and location. Confirm the fund’s full name and ticker in your account, and check whether fractional shares and your account type are supported.

A 1-for-3 reverse split took effect at the open on October 6, 2026. Each three shares became one, with the NAV per share adjusted proportionately. The split itself did not change the aggregate value of a holding, apart from fractional interests redeemed for cash.

Share Price and NAV

The share price can sit above NAV, called a premium, or below it, called a discount. When authorized participants create or redeem shares with the trust, the market price tends to move back toward NAV. Check the current bid and ask prices and any broker commission before you trade.

Ether Withdrawals and Retail Shares

Buying a share does not put ether into a wallet you control. Retail investors buy and sell shares on the market. Authorized participants create and redeem blocks of 40,000 shares with the trust, in cash or in ether. That process gives an ordinary shareholder no way to withdraw ether personally.

Holding ether in a personal wallet is one alternative for investors who need to make transfers or control the keys. That choice brings responsibility for the wallet and for securing access to the coins.

ETHA vs ETHB

BlackRock runs a second ether fund, the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB), which stakes most of its ether. The two share a sponsor, custodians and benchmark.

ETHB’s staking adds rewards and lifts its rating. It also brings slashing risk that Coinbase does not cover, which is why ETHB scores lower on custody. ETHA avoids that risk by not staking at all.

The rating and supporting fund terms were reviewed on September 25, 2026, using ETH methodology version eth-1.1 and a September 24 data cutoff. Market figures carry their own dates in the rating. The reporting review covers the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

We reviewed the iShares fund page, the trust’s SEC filings, including its annual and quarterly reports, prospectus and filed custody agreements, and third-party fund data, checked on September 24, 2026. The assessment covers fund structure, costs and custody terms. It does not include an executed trade or an inspection of private custody systems.

To report an error in this review, contact CryptoSlate.