Business Description

Summary The VanEck Ethereum ETF (the “Trust”) was formed as a Delaware statutory trust on March 1, 2021. The Trust operates pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement dated as of July 28, 2024 (the “Trust Agreement”). The purpose of the Trust is to own ETH transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (the “Shares”). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of ETH held by a third-party custodian. The Trust is managed and controlled by the sponsor VanEck Digital Assets, LLC (the “Sponsor”), a Delaware limited liability company. The Sponsor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck”). CSC Delaware Trust Company, a Delaware trust company, is the Delaware trustee of the Trust (the “Trustee”). Gemini Trust Company, LLC (the “ETH Custodian”) and Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC (the “Additional ETH Custodian”) are the custodians of the Trust who hold all of the Trust’s ethereum on the Trust’s behalf. State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”) serves as the Trust’s administrator (the “Administrator”), the transfer agent for the Trust (the “Transfer Agent”) and the cash custodian of the Trust (the “Cash Custodian”). On May 20, 2024, Van Eck Associates Corporation (“VanEck” or the “Seed Capital Investor”), the parent of the Sponsor, subject to certain conditions, purchased the “Seed Shares,” comprising 2,000 Shares at a per-Share price of $50.00. Delivery of the Seed Shares was made on May 20, 2024. Total proceeds to the Trust from the sale of the Seed Shares were $100,000. On June 25, 2024, the Seed Shares were redeemed for cash and the Seed Capital Investor purchased the “Seed Creation Baskets,” comprising of 200,000 Shares at a per-Share price of $50.00. Total proceeds to the Trust from the sale of the Seed Creation Baskets were $10,000,000, which resulted in the Trust receiving 2,929.06 ETH. Delivery of the Seed Creation Baskets was made on June 26, 2024. The Trust’s net asset value (“NAV”) was $157,578,941 at December 31, 2025, the Trust’s fiscal year end. Outstanding Shares of the Trust were 3,625,000 at December 31, 2025. The Trust is not actively managed and will not take any actions to take advantage, or mitigate the impacts, of volatility in the price of ETH. The activities of the Trust include (i) selling Shares in blocks of 25,000 Shares (“Baskets”) to financial firms that are registered broker-dealers (“Authorized Participants” or “APs”) in exchange for cash to purchase ETH; (ii) selling ETH to distribute cash to Authorized Participants redeeming Baskets; (iii) purchasing ETH represented by the Basket being created; and (iv) selling ETH to distribute cash to Authorized Participants redeeming Shares or to pay the Sponsor’s Fee and Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor, if any. The Trust sells or redeems its Shares in Baskets that are based on the amount of ETH represented by the Basket being created, the amount of ETH being equal to the combined NAV of the number of Shares included in the Basket (net of the accrued but unpaid remuneration due the Sponsor (“Sponsor Fee”) and any accrued but unpaid expenses or liabilities not assumed by the Sponsor). The Trust conducts subscriptions and redemptions in cash or in-kind. For a subscription in cash, the Authorized Participant’s subscription for Shares shall be in the amount of cash needed to purchase the amount of ETH represented by the Basket being created, as calculated by the Administrator based on the Index or the other valuation policies described in the prospectus relating to the offering of the Shares. The AP will deliver the cash to the Trust’s account at the Cash Custodian, which the Sponsor will then use to purchase ETH from a third party selected by the Sponsor who (1) is not the Authorized Participant and (2) will not be acting as an agent, nor at the direction, of the Authorized Participant with respect to the delivery of ETH to the Trust in connection with such cash creation (such third party, a “Liquidity Provider”). For a redemption in cash, the Sponsor shall arrange for the ETH represented by the Basket to be sold to a Liquidity Provider selected by the Sponsor and the cash proceeds to be distributed from the Trust’s account at the Cash Custodian to the Authorized Participant in exchange for their Shares.…