Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF 8-K

What Happened
Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC (the Sponsor) filed an 8-K on March 16, 2026 announcing that, effective April 1, 2026, the Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF (ETH) will value the Ether it holds for operational purposes using the CoinDesk Ether Benchmark Rate instead of the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX). Beginning April 1, the Trust’s NAV and NAV per Share will be calculated using the CoinDesk Ether Benchmark Rate.

Key Details

• Effective date: April 1, 2026 — Index for NAV calculation changes from CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX) to CoinDesk Ether Benchmark Rate.
• Constituent platforms (as of March 16, 2026): Binance, Bitstamp by Robinhood, Bullish, Bybit, Crypto.com, Gate, Gemini, HashKey, Kraken, LMAX Digital, and OKX.
• Index mechanics: the CoinDesk rate is a USD-denominated, volume-weighted real-time composite rate calculated every 5 seconds over 24 hours with outlier detection, inactivity adjustment, FX conversion and other manipulation-resistance features.
• Fallback rules: if the Index is unavailable or not considered accurate, Sponsor will try (1) obtain the Index directly, then (2) use Coin Metrics Real‑Time Rate, (3) use the Trust’s principal market price, or (4) use Sponsor’s good-faith estimate. The Index License Agreement (dated Feb 1, 2022) allows the Index Provider to change methodology without the Trust’s consent.

Why It Matters
This change affects how the Trust calculates its NAV and NAV per Share starting April 1, 2026 — a material operational input for investors because NAV determines share valuation and creation/redemption activity. The filing also makes clear the Index Provider can change venues or methodology (with historical notice in many cases), and the Sponsor has a defined cascading process if the Index is unavailable. Investors should note the listed trading platforms that currently feed the new benchmark and that the Sponsor will report material changes in future filings.