Fidelity discloses $4.7 million seed investment for its spot Ether ETF

Fidelity has amended its S-1 filing for a spot Ethereum ETF, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday.

The asset management firm is the first to file an amended S-1 Registration Statement with the SEC, kicking off what ETF analysts say could be a busy day for firms looking to secure approval to list spot Ether ETFs.

Fidelity’s amends S-1 filing

Fidelity’s filing disclosed a $4.7 million seed investment for its ETF, with affiliate FMR Capital having purchased 125,000 shares to seed the funds’ basket. The company said in the filing that FMR acquired the 125k shares at $38 per share and the proceeds then purchased 1,250 Ether.

While it disclosed the seed capital for the Ether spot ETF, Fidelity did not include fees. Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, says this could be a “waiting” game for the issuers as they gauge what others offer.

“Fidelity kicking off the 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 SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, issuers looked to take advantage by revealing very low fees. Grayscale, which set its fee at 1.5%, has seen massive outflows from its GBTC spot Bitcoin ETF.

No staking

In its update, Fidelity also confirmed that the asset manager’s ETF will not include staking. In proof-of-stake mechanisms, ETH holders can lock up their assets to participate in transaction validation and in return earn staking rewards.

The firm’s initial filing in March had indicated the inclusion of staking, before an update in May removed that.

When will spot Ether ETFs start trading?

SEC approved spot Ethereum ETFs in May, giving a nod to applications by Fidelity, BlackRock, VanEck, Grayscale, Invesco Galaxy, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, and Bitwise.

However, the approval of the form 19b-4s was only the first step and a nod to S-1s will have to happen before the ETFs hit exchanges for trading. In recent comments, SEC chair Gary Gensler told lawmakers that he expects the Commission to approve S-1s “in the summer.”

Analysts believe this could be as soon as early July, with Bloomberg’s Balchunas noting that the launch date could be as early as July 2.

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