Ethereum staking proposal faces opposition from Sharplink, Aave and Grayscale

Grayscale Investments has amended the trust agreement for its Ethereum ETF, making staking of the underlying ETH the default. The change could put roughly 161,000 ETH into staking and enable cash dividend distributions to shareholders every three months.

Corporate holders now control about 11% of the total ETH supply, with firms such as BitMine (≈5.8 million ETH) and SharpLink (≈869,000 ETH) among the largest balances. Spot ETH ETFs have expanded institutional access, bringing billions of dollars into the market.

At the same time, Sharplink and Aave founder Stani Kulechov have publicly opposed Ethereum Improvement Proposal 8363, the “Tapered Issuance Burn.” The draft would progressively burn validator issuance rewards as the staking share rises, potentially eliminating issuance‑based rewards when staking reaches roughly 50‑60% of total ETH. Critics argue the proposal could weaken DeFi lending, reduce the native yield that attracts institutional investors, and jeopardize network security by making validator economics less viable.

The debate highlights a clash between emerging institutional demand for ETH’s staking income and a governance proposal that could fundamentally alter that revenue stream.