Collaborating with world-class partners, Coinbase and Tetra Trust, 3iQ goes live with North America’s first Staking exchange traded products, seeking to generate additional yield and improve performance
TORONTO – October 19, 2023 – 3iQ Digital Asset Management (3iQ), the first regulated digital asset investment fund manager in Canada, announced today that The Ether Fund (TSX: QETH.UN, QETH.U) and the 3iQ Ether ETF (TSX: ETHQ, ETHQ.U) (collectively, the Funds) will commence staking ether (ETH). Through staking, the Funds will earn rewards in the form of ETH, which will be reflected in the net asset value (NAV) of the Funds through accretive yield. The Ethereum network staking yield sits around 4%. The 3iQ Ether ETF is the world’s first Ether ETF vehicle to enable staking.
To commemorate this landmark innovative milestone, 3iQ will be waiving the management fee of the 3iQ Ether ETF until March 31st, 2024, and, effective October 20, 2023, the fund will commence trading as the “3iQ Ether Staking ETF”. The ticker symbol will remain the same.
Building upon its proven track record and history of delivering innovative investments of institutional quality, 3iQ achieved another digital asset investment “first” when they announced last June their plans to commence ETH staking in the Funds.
Working in collaboration with industry leaders Coinbase and Tetra Trust, 3iQ is establishing new standards to deliver digital asset investment solutions safely, securely and efficiently within Canada's exchange-traded product (ETP) space. Through its compliant and trusted platform, 3iQ seeks to offer the best of both worlds to its investors, providing additional yield generated by dedicated validators on the Ethereum network’s Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, while eliminating the complexities of directly handling digital assets.
Fred Pye, Chairman and CEO of 3iQ, said, "Our commitment to innovation is unwavering, and our history of being at the forefront of digital asset investment solutions speaks for itself. With the launch of ETH staking in The Ether Fund and the 3iQ Ether Staking ETF, we are proud to offer our investors a unique opportunity to fully participate in the upside growth of Ethereum."
The Funds’ digital assets are held in segregated, cold storage custody accounts with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC with oversight by Tetra Trust, a qualified custodian backed by WonderFi and other industry giants. 3iQ also exclusively uses Coinbase Custody’s institutional staking infrastructure to support ETH staking in these products.
"Collaborating with 3iQ to provide staking services in Canada's ETP space aligns with our strategic mission to deliver safety, security and trust to digital asset investing while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance across all regulatory regimes," said Brett Tejpaul, Head of Coinbase Institutional.
Didier Lavallée, CEO of Tetra, added, "We are excited to contribute our expertise to this partnership, and as Canada’s only approved custodian for staking, we are constantly working to ensure safe, secure and successful experiences for 3iQ's investors."
Although there is currently no minimum or maximum amount of the portfolio assets of the Funds that may be staked, 3iQ intends to adopt a measured approach to the Staking Activities, taking into account the liquidity needs of the Fund and the novelty of the investment strategy.
3iQ is entitled to receive a portion of the staking rewards generated for the Funds by the Staking Activities (net of the validator fees) such that 75% of the rewards accrue to the Funds and 25% of the awards accrue to 3iQ (the Staking Service Fee). The Staking Service Fee shall be calculated and paid monthly, in arrears, plus applicable taxes, and is intended to compensate 3iQ for the additional work required to administer the Staking Activities for the Funds. The Staking Service Fee charged by 3iQ will only be deducted from any rewards generated by the Staking Activities which will generate income to the Funds.
To learn more about how 3iQ is securing the future of digital finance with its staking products as well as to view frequently asked questions and associated risk factors, visit 3iq.io/staking.
About 3iQ Digital Asset Management
Founded in 2012, 3iQ is one of the world’s leading digital asset investment fund managers, offering investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer public bitcoin investment funds: The Bitcoin Fund (TSX: QBTC) (TSX: QBTC.U) and the 3iQ Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCQ) (TSX: BTCQ.U), as well as public ether investment funds: The Ether Fund (TSX: QETH.UN) (TSX: QETH.U) and the 3iQ Ether Staking ETF (TSX: ETHQ) (TSX: ETHQ.U). To learn more about 3iQ, visit 3iq.io.
About Coinbase
Coinbase is building the cryptoeconomy – a more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto. The company started in 2012 with the radical idea that anyone, anywhere, should be able to easily and securely send and receive Bitcoin. Today, Coinbase offers a trusted and easy-to-use platform for accessing the broader cryptoeconomy. Built for institutions, Coinbase Prime integrates advanced agency trading, custody, prime financing, staking, staking infrastructure, market data, and reporting that supports the entire transaction lifecycle. We combine these capabilities with leading security, insurance, and compliance practices to provide institutional clients of Coinbase with a full-service platform to access crypto markets at scale.
About Tetra
Founded in 2019, Tetra Trust Company is the leading trust company licensed to custody digital assets in Canada. Backed by industry giants such as WonderFi Technologies Inc. (TSX: WNDR) (OTCQB: WONDF) (WKN: A3C166), Coinbase Ventures, Canadian Securities Exchange, Urbana, and others, Tetra delivers the most advanced digital asset storage technology, setting the standard for digital asset custody in the country. For more information, visit www.tetratrust.com.
Contacts
3iQ:
Ryan Graham, JConnelly
862-777-4274
rgraham@jconnelly.com
Julie Mercuro, JConnelly
973-349-6471
jmercuro@jconnelly.com
Coinbase:
press@coinbase.com
investors@coinbase.com
Tetra:
press@tetratrust.com