Bloomberg Analyst Eric Balchunas Predicts More Filings and Potential July 2 Launch for Ether ETFs
Investment giant Fidelity has revised its application for a spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Key Details of the Filing
On June 21, Fidelity submitted an amended Form S-1 Registration Statement to the SEC, which is necessary for registering investments for public sale. The updated filing discloses that FMR Capital, an affiliate of Fidelity, has purchased 125,000 shares at $38 each, seeding the fund with $4.7 million. This investment was used to acquire 1,250 Ether (ETH).
Additionally, Fidelity has confirmed that it will not engage in ETH staking. The company had previously removed staking services from its proposal on May 21. The filing states:
“The Trust will not participate in the proof-of-stake validation mechanism of the Ethereum network (i.e., the Trust will not ‘stake’ its ether) to earn additional ether or seek other means of generating income from its ether holdings.”
SEC Approvals and Market Predictions
The SEC has approved a rule change that allows the listing and trading of eight spot Ether ETFs from major asset managers, including VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise. However, these ETFs still require SEC approval for their S-1 forms before they can begin trading.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas anticipates that additional asset managers will update their filings on June 21, with a potential debut of the funds on July 2. Balchunas commented on X:
“We will see a bunch of amended S-1s filed today, probably later this afternoon. Then the ball’s in 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 ETH ETFs launch date.”
Other Asset Manager Updates
Bitwise has also updated its proposal with the SEC. On June 19, the asset manager included a potential $100-million investment in the ETF from Pantera Capital upon its trading launch. Another asset manager, Hashdex, is also seeking regulatory approval. On June 18, Hashdex proposed creating a combined spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether ETF on the Nasdaq exchange, having recently abandoned plans to offer a standalone Ether ETF.
These developments indicate a growing interest and movement towards the establishment of Ether ETFs, with multiple major players actively seeking regulatory approval and preparing for potential market entries.