Cboe BZX Submits Proposal to SEC for Fidelity’s Ethereum Spot ETF Staking
On Tuesday, the Cboe BZX Exchange, a subsidiary of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), submitted a rule change proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow Fidelity’s Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) to engage in Ethereum staking.
In a 19b-4 filing, Cboe BZX Exchange proposed to “amend the Fidelity Ethereum Fund… to allow staking of the Ethereum held by the trust.”
Following the launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs last January, the SEC subsequently approved several Ethereum spot ETFs in July, including BlackRock’s ETHA fund and Grayscale’s ETHE fund, although the initial proposals did not include staking functionality. If the subsequent staking proposal is approved, it would allow Fidelity’s FETH fund to “stake all or a portion of the Ethereum held by the trust through one or more trusted staking service providers.” The application also stated that any rewards generated from staking would be “considered as income.”
Additionally, Grayscale and 21Shares are also seeking to add staking functionality to their Ethereum ETFs (the SEC has accepted 21Shares’ application).