21Shares Polkadot ETF Q2 “Staked Proceeds” Are Costly: Realized a $4.52 Loss for Every $1 Reward Paid
Comparatively, according to Protos, the latest disclosure documents of 21Shares' Polkadot ETF (TDOT) show that when the fund paid staked proceeds through the sale of DOT tokens in the second quarter of 2026, every dollar of revenue generated was accompanied by a realized loss of approximately $4.52. According to regulatory documents, TDOT sold 98,505 DOTs in the second quarter and received approximately $10.75 million in cash to pay pledged proceeds to shareholders. However, due to the sharp drop in DOT's price, these sales confirmed a loss of approximately $48.56 million. According to the data, DOT fell by about 34% in the second quarter of 2026, with a cumulative decline of 76% over the past 12 months up to June 30. Since TDOT shareholders receive dollar-denominated distributions rather than directly receiving DOT pledge rewards, the fund needs to sell DOT to convert cash payments to lock in losses in a low price environment. TDOT paid shareholders a cumulative income of about $0.14,698 per share in the second quarter, but the fund's share price fell from $14.95 to $9.86 during the same period, a decrease of about 34%. The pledge income did not offset the losses caused by falling asset prices.