Sygnum launches ETH Alpha Fund targeting 8% to 10% annual returns in ETH

Sygnum has launched the ETH Alpha Fund SP, a market-neutral fund for professional investors targeting annual returns of 8% to 10% in ETH, net of fees.

The fund combines native ETH staking with options premiums, cross-venue arbitrage and derivatives carry and funding strategies, with all gains and losses realized in ETH rather than dollars.

"Institutions that hold ETH for the long term increasingly think in ETH, not dollars, and judge their year by whether they end it holding more," said Markus Hammerli, head of asset management and ETH Alpha Fund lead at Sygnum. "We built the fund around that measure, adding in-kind income strategies to staking within the safeguards of a regulated structure."

The fund opened to investors on Nov. 2, 2026, and is available to qualified and professional investors in approved markets, including Switzerland. Institutions can also gain ETH exposure through spot ether ETFs.

Ethereum staking reached 43.8 million ETH, or nearly 36% of supply, by the end of September, while average annualized staking yields declined to 2.63%.

Thomas Brunner, Sygnum Bank's head of custody and staking, discussed institutional demand for ETH staking and the growing importance of staking rewards to long-term ETH holders in an interview with The Block in July.

"Almost no one is un-staking, which points to genuine conviction," Brunner said at the time. "The entry queue measures as much plumbing as demand."