Spot Ethereum ETF: Fidelity Adds Staking In Latest Filing

The serial delay of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on spot Ethereum ETF has done little to deter Fidelity Investments as the firm just added the Staking option to its filing.

Fidelity To Add Staking to Spot Ethereum ETF

In November 2023, the American investment management firm applied to list its Ethereum spot ETF product with the SEC. This made it the 7th firm in the U.S. to gravitate towards the product after the likes of BlackRock, Hashdex, Invesco, and Grayscale Investments. 

The spot Ethereum ETF, if approved, will trade in compliance with the BZX Rule.

Ordinarily, the SEC is expected to decide on the rule change within 45 days of its publication for public comment. However, the decision from the agency did not come as expected even after the request for public comment was made in the first week of December. Rather the SEC announced a 45-day extension, pushing its decision on the Fidelity spot Ethereum ETF to March 5. 

FIDELITY ADDS STAKING TO THEIR ETH ETF APPLICATION IN AMENDMENT

Source: DB | Coins: ETH

— db (@tier10k) March 18, 2024

It is already way past the expected date and no decision has been made by the SEC on Fidelity’s spot ETH ETF or that of any other applicant. As it continued waiting for the SEC, Fidelity decided to add staking for the cryptocurrency. Precisely, the asset management firm is looking to stake a portion of the fund’s assets through one or more trusted staking providers.

“In consideration for any staking activity in which the Fund may engage, the Fund would receive certain network rewards of ether tokens, which may be treated as income to the Fund as compensation for services provided,” Fidelity stated in its amended spot Ethereum ETF filing.

Deadline Fast Approaching

In the meantime, the duo Ark Invest and 21Shares are still anticipating a decision for their joint spot Ethereum ETF by May. Also, industry observers are closely watch the May 23 deadline for VanEck’s filing, a make or mar point for the product. 

Considering how much the regulator has consistently extended the date for its decision, it is not certain that the SEC will stick to the next deadline. Top industry players like JPMorgan already doubt the possibility of the SEC’s May approval for Ethereum ETFs.

Still, the recent move from Fidelity Investments to amend its filing suggests that these spot Ethereum ETF applicants are doing their best to keep hope alive.