BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) will undergo a one-for-three reverse share split effective October 6, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Trust's sponsor, iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, approved the split on July 31. Every three ETHA shares outstanding as of the October 5 record date will be consolidated into one, raising the fund's per-share net asset value without changing the total value of any shareholder's holdings or the Trust's aggregate assets. No fractional shares will be issued; any fractional remainder will be redeemed and paid out in cash to the shareholder's brokerage account, a step the filing notes may carry tax consequences.
The filing does not explain BlackRock's rationale. Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas offered one on X, noting the adjustment should cut trading costs, from roughly seven basis points to about two. A lower share price widens the relative size of the bid-ask spread on a percentage basis, and pushing the price higher via a reverse split is a standard way issuers shrink that gap.
BlackRock has announced a 1 for 3 reverse split for $ETHA so the price will go from $14 to $42 in Oct.. this will lower cost to trade from 7bps to 2bps ish. Gotta love how ETF issuers consider a 7bp spread a PROBLEM and is adjusting to cut it to 2bps, meanwhile the crypto… pic.twitter.com/ifcoj7DATh
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 4, 2026
ETHA has fallen alongside Ether itself. The ETF was trading near $14 this week, down roughly 40% year-to-date, tracking Ether's own decline. Despite the drop, ETHA remains the largest spot Ether ETF by assets; Grayscale's ether funds rank next.
Reverse splits aren't new to crypto ETFs. Grayscale completed similar splits on its Bitcoin Mini Trust and Ethereum Mini Trust in November 2024, lifting per-share NAV by 5x and 10x respectively. BlackRock's ratio is more modest, consistent with a share price that, even after a steep decline, hasn't fallen as far as those funds' had.
The split is cosmetic rather than structural, but it comes at a moment when ETHA's flows have drawn more attention than its share mechanics. The fund has been a focal point of redemptions as institutional enthusiasm for Ether has cooled this year. BlackRock also runs the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF , which began trading in March, giving the firm two ways to capture ETH ETF demand if it recovers. For now, the October adjustment changes how ETHA trades, not what it holds.
