Revised Spot Ethereum ETF Filings Exclude Staking Provisions After SEC Feedback

In response to feedback from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), six spot Ethereum ETF applicants, including Fidelity and ARK Invest, have revised their filings to exclude staking provisions. Experts believe that the removal of staking will enhance the legitimacy of Ethereum and its staking yields.

The six applicants have updated their filings at the eleventh hour in response to SEC comments. These applicants—VanEck, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, ARK Invest, Grayscale, and Invesco Galaxy—have made changes to their filings submitted to the Cboe exchange, specifically removing staking provisions from the Ethereum blockchain for the proposed ETFs.

Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and ARK 21Shares have explicitly removed clauses related to the verification of proof-of-stake for Ethereum from their proposals. In its revised filing, Fidelity emphasized that neither the Foundation nor the related parties would hold stakes in cryptocurrency. Grayscale made a similar declaration, removing staking provisions from its application.

These amendments are intended to meet SEC requirements. Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, and Ethereum investor Ryan Berckmans stated that the removal of staking could benefit the overall Ethereum ecosystem by enhancing staking yields and legitimacy without adding risks associated with an ETF.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, the Cboe exchange published these revised 19b-4 filings on May 21 within a 25-minute window. Although these revised filings are a step towards launch, the ETFs cannot become operational until the SEC also approves the associated S-1 registration statements. Seyffart noted that the path to approval is lengthy and that revisions are still needed for the S-1 forms.

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