Bitwise EU quietly builds leading staking-ETP franchise

Bitwise's European subsidiary has listed six staking ETPs in nine months, three powered by CF Benchmarks' regulated CF Staking Series methodology

Staking Out

For most of 2025, Bitwise Europe (Bitwise EU) has been methodically rolling out a suite of staking exchange-traded products — a niche that has quietly become the firm’s hallmark on the continent. Six listings in nine months have given Bitwise EU one of the most extensive staking-ETP line-ups in Europe, spanning Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, Aptos, NEAR, and Celestia.

CF Benchmarks is proud to have played a part in this drive as the provider of regulated staking reward indices for some of Bitwise’s EU staking ETPs.

While the European crypto-ETP market remains smaller than the U.S., there’s no doubt Bitwise’s deliberate build-out signals that investor demand for yield-enhanced, on-chain income is material.

With EU and U.S. regulators facilitating the reduction of frictions for issuers of and investors in staking ETPs, we explore how one of those issuers, Bitwise EU, has staked out a leading position in this emerging product class – a position that is set to drive continued adoption by mainstream investors.

Dual-track

Bitwise EU has drawn a clear line between price-only and staking exposures, launching parallel products for several networks. The distinction matters.

• Price-return ETPs serve allocators seeking pure directional exposure.
• Staking-return ETPs target investors comfortable with validator operations, lock-ups, and reward accruals — capturing the full economic yield of PoS networks.

That dual-track approach allows Bitwise EU to meet divergent investor mandates while building operational depth in validator management, yield accounting, and total-return NAV calculation — capabilities that translate directly into its U.S. roadmap.

Below, we list the complete suite of Bitwise EU’s staking ETPs.

Bitwise EU Staking ETPs at a Glance

Blueprint for expansion

It’s worth noting that although the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL) beat a host of rivals to the punch as the first ’33 Act staking ETP in recent weeks, it was in essence foreshadowed by its EU sibling.

As such, European franchise serves as a regulatory and operational laboratory, among other indirect benefits, providing the group with real-world data on validator performance, slashing risk, and yield variability across multiple chains.

As U.S. policy toward staking within registered funds continues to evolve, Bitwise EU’s accumulated expertise helps position the group to move first when approvals broaden — particularly for funds that combine spot exposure with on-chain yield.

Structure and behavior

Bitwise EU’s steady inflows into its staking products — most notably Ethereum and NEAR — underline how European allocators are beginning to segment crypto exposures along yield as well as beta. Portfolio managers increasingly treat staking yield as a quasi-fixed-income component within broader digital-asset allocations, offering a natural hedge to spot-price volatility.

Secondary-market liquidity in Frankfurt and Zurich suggests that institutional desks, not retail traders, drive most turnover — indicating that staking ETPs are finding footing as core holdings rather than speculative trades. What’s emerging is a quiet but durable pattern of demand for transparent, yield-accreting structures backed by regulated benchmarks.

Staking Returns – the CF Benchmarks Way

Three of Bitwise EU’s staking ETPs — Avalanche (AVNB), Aptos (APTB) and NEAR (NEAR) — reference CF Benchmarks’ Staked Return Indices. These regulated indices are a window into staking-yield accrual, following transparent, auditable rules that capture the compounding effects of on-chain rewards while preserving benchmark integrity.

The use of regulated benchmarks ensures that staking income is accounted for under consistent, manipulation-resistant rulesets — a prerequisite for fiduciary reporting, performance attribution and replication by market makers.

We showcase the three Bitwise EU ETPs powered by CF Benchmarks’ CF Staking Series methodology below.

Why it matters

Beyond Bitwise itself, the European experience is a proving ground for how staking can migrate into mainstream ETF design. It illustrates that:

1. Yield-enhanced crypto ETPs can attract sustainable AUM when governance and index transparency are robust.
2. Benchmark-driven structure is essential for scalable operations and trusted NAV calculation.
3. Issuer-level expertise in staking infrastructure is fast becoming a differentiator — not just marketing gloss.

In short, Bitwise EU’s steady expansion hints at what the next phase of the crypto-ETP market will look like as staking increasingly establishes itself as more of a design feature, rather than merely a footnote.

MiCA 2.0 and beyond

The European Commission’s current consultation on staking within MiCA 2.0 is likely to entrench, rather than restrict, these structures by clarifying validator-as-service roles and reward-distribution disclosure. Should that happen, Bitwise EU’s franchise may become the default template for compliant, yield-bearing crypto exposures across the bloc.

For issuers, the lesson is clear: staking is migrating from innovation to infrastructure — and early movers are crystallizing operational know-how that will be difficult to replicate later.

US Staking takeaways

Bitwise Europe’s staking ETP franchise shows that yield-integrated crypto exposures can coexist with institutional standards of governance, transparency and benchmarking. As the firm refines these mechanics in Europe, it appears to be quietly shaping the blueprint for the next generation of U.S. staking ETFs — and demonstrating how regulated index design can make on-chain yield investable.

That blueprint is set to soon find increasingly receptive U.S. regulatory ground. This week the U.S. Treasury and IRS issued initial guidelines for staking-ETP taxation and treatment — a milestone underscored by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The framework begins to define how staking rewards are recognized, reported and taxed within registered products. This clarity will likely pave the way for an expansion of U.S.-listed staking ETPs, with Bitwise uniquely advantaged thanks to its EU learnings and the precedent set by its U.S. Solana Staking ETF (BSOL).

In effect, Bitwise EU’s quiet European expansion may become the playbook for a global class of yield-aware crypto ETFs.

Explore more

Explore Bitwise Europe Crypto ETPs

Product List | Explore our Crypto ETPs | Bitwise

Explore our full range of crypto exchange-traded crypto products (ETPs) providing access to single crypto assets, diversified baskets, and staking. Our most popular ETPs include: Bitwise Core Bitcoin ETP | DE000A4AER62, Bitwise Solana Staking ETP | DE000A3GVKZ1, Bitwise MSCI Digital Assets Select 20 ETP | DE000A3G3ZL3. Learn more

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Discover CF Benchmarks CF Staking Series

Explore the indices behind Bitwise EU's Aptos (APT), NEAR and Avalanche (AVAX) staking ETPs:

• CF APT Staked Return Index
• CF NEAR Staked Return Index
• CF AVAX Staked Return Index