VanEck pulls Lido stETH ETF filing from SEC pipeline

VanEck withdraws SEC registration for its Lido Staked Ethereum ETF

VanEck has told the SEC it will not proceed with its planned Lido Staked Ethereum ETF, the first US filing tied to Lido’s stETH token. In the withdrawal filing, VanEck Digital Assets said it “does not intend to proceed with the planned distribution” of the trust’s shares.

A year after the S-1, no reason given

The registration never became effective, so no shares were issued and none will be. The fund would have held Lido staked Ether (stETH) directly, accruing staking rewards through ownership of the token and giving brokerage-account investors exposure to liquid staking.

The filing ends a year-long process. VanEck reportedly registered the product as a Delaware statutory trust in early October 2025, before filing the S-1 registration statement on 16 October 2025. Neither the withdrawal nor any company statement explains what prompted the decision, or whether VanEck will pursue a replacement product.

VanEck was the first firm to file for a US ETF tied to Lido’s liquid staking token. The withdrawal therefore sets the tone for the liquid staking ETF category in the US, even though development of such products continues in both the US and Europe. The backdrop has shifted too: the SEC has issued guidance distinguishing certain liquid staking activities from securities, and VanEck pulled the filing without ever receiving a regulatory denial.

For Lido and its token

At the time of the original filing, Lido’s total value locked stood at a reported $38 billion to $40 billion, and the protocol had distributed over $2 billion in cumulative staking rewards since launch. LDO, Lido’s governance token, rallied roughly 7% after the ETF filing was announced in October 2025.

The withdrawal came to light on 14 October 2026, and VanEck has not responded publicly to comment requests.