Fidelity Amends Ether (ETH) Spot ETF Application, Invests $4.7M Seed Capital

Fidelity has amended an application for a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF). In a June 21 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Asset management giant Fidelity has made further progress in its bid to launch a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF). In a June 21 filing, Fidelity disclosed an affiliate’s $4.7 million seed capital investment in the fund.

According to the filing, FMR Capital, an affiliate of Fidelity, seeded the fund with $4.7 million. This money was used to purchase 1,250 ETH, with each share costing $38. This update is part of Fidelity’s amended Form S-1 Registration Statement, a necessary step to register investments for public sale.

This application comes after the SEC’s approval for the listing and trading of eight spot Ether ETFs from major asset managers, including VanEck, BlackRock, and Grayscale. These ETFs are now awaiting the final approval of their S-1 forms before commencing trading.

However, Fidelity’s Ether ETF will not participate in ETH staking. The filing states that the Trust will not engage in the proof-of-stake validation mechanism of the Ethereum network to earn additional ETH or generate income from its ether holdings.

This aligns with an earlier amendment made by Fidelity, showing their focus on holding Ether without staking.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, more asset managers were expected to amend their filings on June 21. He predicts that these funds could debut on July 2. Balchunas wrote on X,

“We will see a bunch of amended S-1s filed today, prob later this afternoon. Then the ball’s in the SEC’s court to let issuers know about any final changes and effectiveness (aka final approval). We are holding the line with July 2nd as our over/under for the eth ETFs launch date.”

Meanwhile, Bitwise has also updated its proposal with the SEC, including a potential $100 million investment in the ETF from Pantera Capital upon its launch. This highlights the high stakes and interest surrounding these financial products.

Furthermore, Hashdex is seeking regulatory approval for a combined spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF on the Nasdaq exchange. This proposal was submitted on June 18, shortly after Hashdex dropped plans for a sole Ether ETF.