Financial services behemoth Fidelity Investments is seeking SEC approval to create its exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would hold ETH, the native token of the Ethereum network. Fidelity’s application comes a day after BlackRock filed an S-1 form with the SEC for its spot Ethereum ETF.
SEC Receives Fidelity’s Spot Ether ETF Application
Fidelity has joined BlackRock in the race for a spot-based ether ETF.
In a Nov. 17 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fidelity said the ETF aims to “track the performance of Ether, as measured by the performance of the Fidelity Ethereum Index.” The index symbolizes the U.S. dollar price of ETH based on trading activity across major ether trading platforms.
“According to the Registration Statement, each Share will represent a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the Trust’s net assets. The Trust’s assets will consist of ETH held by the Custodian on behalf of the Trust,” the filing reads.
The Fidelity Ethereum fund’s shares would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker symbol ETHF.
“They are the seventh filer for spot Ethereum,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart posited on the X platform, citing previous filings from BlackRock, Grayscale, Ark Invest, Invesco & Galaxy, VanEck, and Hashdex.
Why ETF Approval Would Be A Big Deal
Crypto enthusiasts keenly await an SEC approval of one or more ETF applications as the SEC has been reluctant to approve one, often citing possible market manipulation as the biggest risk factor.
According to optimists, ETFs that hold BTC or ETH, the market’s largest cryptocurrencies, could drastically shake up the crypto market as they could ease mainstream investors’ path into digital assets.
Fidelity noted in the filing that U.S. investors lack a “regulated, U.S. exchange-traded vehicle to gain exposure to ETH”. The giant financial firm further argued that existing venues for gaining exposure to the token entail encountering counter-party risk, legal uncertainty, and technical risk. “Meanwhile, investors in other countries… are able to use more traditional exchange-listed and traded products,” Fidelity continued.
To this end, Fidelity believes approval of a spot ether ETF would represent a “major win for the protection of U.S. investors in the crypto asset space.”
Fidelity submitted paperwork for a spot Bitcoin ETF in June, shortly after BlackRock took the big leap.
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