Fidelity reveals 47 million in initial funding for its Ether ETF
Fidelity has made changes to its S-1 filing for a spot Ethereum ETF, as stated in documents submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday.
The investment firm is the first to update its S-1 Registration Statement with the SEC, starting what ETF analysts anticipate will be a busy day for companies seeking approval to list spot Ether ETFs.
Amendments to Fidelity’s S-1 filing
Fidelity’s filing revealed a $4.7 million initial investment for its ETF, with FMR Capital, an affiliate, purchasing 125,000 shares to seed the fund’s portfolio. The filing stated that FMR acquired the 125,000 shares at a price of $38 per share, and the proceeds were then used to buy 1,250 Ether.
While the filing disclosed the seed capital for the Ether spot ETF, it did not include any information about fees. Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, suggests that issuers may be playing a “waiting game” to see what others offer.
“Fidelity kicking off the S-1-athon. No fee included yet tho (Franklin only one w fee so far at 19bps). Bitwise didn’t include either. Everyone likely waiting till last min and/or on BlackRock to disclose to see what they need to orbit around,” he posted on X.
In January, ahead of the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, issuers aimed to take advantage by setting very low fees. Grayscale, for example, set its fee at 1.5% but has experienced significant outflows from its GBTC spot Bitcoin ETF.
No staking included
In the update, Fidelity also confirmed that its ETF will not include staking. Staking allows ETH holders to lock up their assets in order to participate in transaction validation and earn staking rewards.
The firm’s initial filing in March had indicated that staking would be included, but this was later removed in the May update.
When will spot Ether ETFs start trading?
The SEC approved spot Ethereum ETFs in May, giving the green light to applications from Fidelity, BlackRock, VanEck, Grayscale, Invesco Galaxy, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, and Bitwise.
However, the approval of the form 19b-4s was just the first step, and approval of the S-1s is necessary before the ETFs can be traded on exchanges. In recent comments, SEC Chair Gary Gensler informed lawmakers that he expects the Commission to approve S-1s “in the summer.”
Analysts believe this could happen as early as early July, with Bloomberg’s Balchunas suggesting that the launch date could be as soon as July 2.
