Fidelity Adjusts Ethereum ETF Application, Optimistic About Regulatory Approval

Spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) may be witnessing a decline in approval odds, but there is still a wave of optimism among several financial management firms applying for the products.

Fidelity Amends Its Ethereum Spot ETF Application

Amid the anticipation encompassing the Ethereum spot ETFs, financial management giant Fidelity has recently amended its application for the exchange products, demonstrating confidence toward approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Chairman and President of The ETF Store, Nate Geraci, took to the social media platform X to share the update with the crypto community today. According to Nate Geraci, the amendment contains a “more thorough examination” of the connection between the spot and futures markets.

It is worth noting that Fidelity entered the competition to introduce an Ethereum ETF in November last year. Other applicants for the ETFs include Grayscale, Ark Invest, 21Shares, and BlackRock, among others.

Geraci mentioned that the update cites the acceptance of a spot Bitcoin ETF. He also shared a screenshot from the latest filing, while noting that the passage is the “money page.” This is because the “SEC will not be let off the hook by Ethereum ETFs issuers.”

In the filing, Fidelity claims that “given the firm correlation between Ethereum and Bitcoin futures offered by Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), applying the same grounds that the SEC used to approval a spot Bitcoin product suggests that the test is satisfied for this proposal.”

As the “SEC anticipates that the CME’s surveillance will help identify potential instances of deceptive and manipulative acts,” the financial firm argues that “Ethereum ETFs should be identified using the same logic.”

By updating its application, Fidelity plans to permit traders and users in its proposed Ethereum fund to stake a portion of the assets. The Registration Statement states that the “Sponsor may occasionally stake a portion of the Fund’s assets through one or more reputable staking providers, some of whom may be Sponsor affiliates or Staking Providers.”

Additionally, “the Fund would get specific network rewards in the form of Ether tokens” for any staking activity it might perform. These rewards could be considered as “income for the Fund” as compensation for the services rendered. 

Grayscale Updates Its ETH ETF Proposal

Fidelity is the latest firm to amend its Ethereum spot ETF application after financial behemoth Grayscale. On Friday, Grayscale reported that the firm had updated its proposal for the products, which marks a vital step in uplisting ETHE to NYSE Arca.

As with spot Bitcoin ETFs, Grayscale thinks the case for spot ETH ETFs is just as strong, and investors demand and deserve exposure to ETH in this aspect.

In compliance with the guidelines mentioned in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Section 19(b) and Rule 19b-4, NYSE Arca intends to list and trade the shares of the following under NYSE rule 8.201.

Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com