- 0.20% sponsor fee
- Gemini custody, plus Coinbase appointment
- VanEck ether fund
VanEck Ethereum ETF Overview
- Fund Name
- VanEck Ethereum ETF
- Ticker
- ETHV
- Listing Exchange
- Cboe BZX
- Fund Family / Issuer
- VanEck
- Underlying Asset
- Ethereum
Additional details
- Exposure
- Spot ether held by the trust.
- Fund Structure
- Delaware statutory trust, not registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
- Annual sponsor fee
- 0.2%
- Fee Assessment Base
- Average daily net assets, as defined for the sponsor fee.
- Effective Annual Charge
- 0.2%
- Fee Terms Checked
- Sep 24, 2026
- Benchmark
- MarketVector Ethereum Benchmark Rate
- Custody Appointments
- Gemini Trust Company; Primary ether custodian; Holds the ether as the trust’s property and is liable for losses caused by its negligence, with a duty to replace lost ether.Coinbase Custody Trust Company; Additional ether custodian; Holds the ether as the trust’s property. Liable for negligence generally, but for losses from unauthorized access to the account only if it was grossly negligent.
- Retail Asset Redemption
- Individual shareholders cannot redeem shares for ether sent to a wallet. Authorized participants create and redeem blocks of shares with the trust.
- 30-day Median Bid/Ask Spread
- 0.11%As of Sep 22, 2026Fidelity; Median bid/ask spread (30-day); Fidelity figure used because the issuer publishes no 30-day median spread.; Retrieved Sep 24, 2026
- Fund Assets
- USD 128,850,000As of Sep 23, 2026
Total net assets
- Staking
- No
- First exchange trading
- July 23, 2024
- Quarterly report reviewed
- Quarter ended June 30, 2026
- Rating reviewed
- Sep. 25, 2026, ETH methodology version eth-1.1, data cutoff Sep. 24
- Other investor costs
- Bid-ask spread and any broker charges are separate
- Official website
- VanEck ETHV fund page
- Research checked
- Sep. 24, 2026
VanEck Ethereum ETF Screenshots
Screenshot 1 of 8
VanEck Ethereum ETF Pros and Cons
Pros
- Ether exposure through exchange-traded shares
- Main custodian liable for negligence
- No personal wallet or keys to manage
Cons
- No staking rewards
- Some custody claims need a higher fault standard
- No issuer-published median spread
Who ETHV Is For
ETHV fits investors who want ether exposure as a security and are content to leave storage to the fund’s service providers.
| What You Want | How ETHV Fits |
|---|---|
| Ether exposure in a brokerage account | Fits, provided your broker offers the US-listed ETHV in your account type |
| Exposure without managing ether keys | Custody is handled through the trust instead of a personal wallet |
| Staking rewards on your ether | Does not fit. ETHV does not stake |
| Ether to send, spend or stake yourself | Does not fit. ETHV shares cannot be transferred to an ether wallet |
CryptoSlate Rating
ETHV scores 6.4/10 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.
| Pillar | Weight | Score | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costs | 24% | 8.3/10 | Ongoing charge 0.20%, with no waiver in effect. |
| Published spread indicator | 20% | 7.8/10 | VanEck publishes no 30-day median, so we use Fidelity’s: 0.11%, dated Sep. 22, 2026. |
| Fund scale | 8% | 6.0/10 | $128.85 million in reported fund assets, dated Sep. 23, 2026. Funds of $100 million to $500 million score 6. |
| Custody terms | 16% | 7.0/10 | Gemini answers for ordinary negligence, but Coinbase, the additional custodian, is liable for unauthorized-access losses only on gross negligence. |
| Reporting | 12% | 10.0/10 | Its SEC reports are up to date and product disclosures are available. Management reported effective disclosure controls at June 30, 2026. |
| Staking | 20% | 0.0/10 | ETHV does not stake, so it scores zero here. |
ETHV’s rating reflects three gaps. It does not stake, which costs the full staking pillar. Its additional custodian’s terms lower custody to 7.0. And VanEck publishes no median spread, so the spread score rests on Fidelity’s 0.11%.
Moving that spread up by 0.01 percentage point, to 0.12%, lowers the overall from 6.4 to 6.3/10, because the score sits close to a rounding boundary.
Staking is worth 20% of our Ethereum score because it changes what a shareholder earns from the same ether. A fund that does not stake scores zero on it and cannot score above 8.0 overall.
What ETHV Is and How It Works
ETHV 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.
Benchmark and How to Check Tracking
ETHV values its ether using the MarketVector Ethereum Benchmark Rate, calculated by MarketVector Indexes, which sets a daily price at 4:00 pm Eastern 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.
Is ETHV Safe? Custody and Investment Risks
A fall in ether’s market price can substantially reduce your ETHV holding. The exchange listing and the VanEck name offer no protection against that decline.
Who Holds ETHV’s Ether?
Gemini Trust Company is ETHV’s ether custodian, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company is an additional custodian. Both hold ether for the trust.
Gemini’s agreement makes it liable where a loss results from its negligence or a breach of its standard of care. Coinbase’s general standard is also negligence, but it takes no responsibility for losses from unauthorized users of the account unless it was grossly negligent. Our custody score uses the weaker of the two custodians’ terms, so ETHV scores 7.0.
Fund Structure and Regulatory Status
ETHV 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.
ETHV Fees and Trading Costs
The sponsor fee is one part of what ETHV costs. Buying and selling the shares adds costs of their own.
| Cost | What Applies to ETHV | What It Means for You |
|---|---|---|
| Annual sponsor fee | 0.20% | Ongoing fund charge, accrued daily and paid monthly |
| Broker charges | Depend on the broker and account | A commission or account charge may apply, separate from ETHV’s fee |
| Bid-ask spread | Depends on the current share quote | A wider spread raises the cost of entering or leaving a position |
Applying 0.20% to a hypothetical $10,000 held at a constant value for a full year gives $20. Your costs move with the value of the holding, and trading costs come on top.
VanEck waived the entire fee on the first $1.5 billion of assets from July 23, 2024 to July 22, 2025. That waiver has ended, and the full 0.20% applies now.
Buying and Selling ETHV
ETHV trades on Cboe BZX. 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.
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 25,000 shares with the trust. That process gives an ordinary shareholder no way to withdraw ether personally.
Where to buy ETHV
Explore broker options for VanEck Ethereum ETF.
Robinhood
Trade ETHV shares through Robinhood’s U.S. securities brokerage.
U.S. accounts, subject to account eligibility and trading permissions.
Listing: Primary listing (ETHV — Cboe BZX). Verified markets: United States. Eligible accounts: U.S. self-directed securities brokerage through Robinhood Financial LLC; check IRA and fractional-share eligibility in your account.
Webull
Trade ETHV shares through Webull’s U.S. securities brokerage.
U.S. accounts, subject to account eligibility and trading permissions.
Listing: Primary listing (ETHV — Cboe BZX). Verified markets: United States. Eligible accounts: U.S. self-directed securities brokerage through Webull Financial LLC; check IRA and fractional-share eligibility in your account.
Availability depends on country and account.
ETHV Alternatives
Holding ether in a personal wallet is one alternative for investors who need to make transfers or control the keys. Investors who want rewards on their ether can look at funds that stake it. Those funds add slashing risk, and part of the rewards goes to the sponsor and staking providers.
ETHV vs ETHW
Bitwise’s Ethereum ETF (ETHW) charges the same fee and has the same custody score.
| Comparison | ETHV | ETHW |
|---|---|---|
| Annual sponsor fee | 0.20% | 0.20% |
| Custody score | 7.0/10 | 7.0/10 |
| Published 30-day spread | 0.11% (Fidelity) | 0.06% (Bitwise) |
| Spread score | 7.8/10 | 8.8/10 |
| Fund assets | $129 million | $297 million |
| CryptoSlate rating | 6.4/10, or 6.3 at a 0.12% spread | 6.6/10, or 6.5 at a 0.07% spread |
The two differ on trading cost. ETHW’s spread scores 8.8 against ETHV’s 7.8, and that difference accounts for the whole 0.2-point gap in the rating.
References
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 VanEck’s fund page and factsheet, 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.
Ethereum ETF Pillar Scores
- Fund fees 24% weight Ongoing sponsor charge before temporary waivers, fee basis, covered expenses, extra fund costs, and waiver terms.8.5 / 10
- Trading spread 20% weight Published 30-day median bid-ask spread, with its source, observation date, and calculation definition recorded.8.0 / 10
- Fund size 8% weight Assets attributable to the fund, using a dated figure and a clearly identified asset-value basis.6.0 / 10
- Staking & reward sharing 20% weight Share of fund ETH staked and the share of gross staking rewards retained for shareholders after all reward deductions.0.0 / 10
- Custody & asset rights 16% weight Fund ownership, asset records, custody-loss liability, withdrawal rights, and recourse for provider-caused slashing.7.0 / 10
- Reporting & transparency 12% weight Required reports, public ETH and staking holdings, benchmark, NAV, and management's disclosure-control conclusions.10.0 / 10
Final Verdict
ETHV holds ether at a 0.20% sponsor fee, with Gemini as its main custodian on a negligence standard. The additional Coinbase appointment weakens ETHV’s custody score. VanEck also does not publish a median spread, so investors have to check trading costs elsewhere. ETHV does not stake.
Best For
Investors who want low-cost ether exposure in a brokerage account from a VanEck fund.
Avoid If
- You want staking rewards, need to withdraw ether, or want a published issuer spread.
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