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22/05/24
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Five Spot Ethereum ETF Applicants Submit Amended 19b-4 Filings
Some of the spot Ether Exchange-traded Funds (ETF) issuers awaiting the decision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reportedly filed an amended 19b-4. This comes after they received feedback from the SEC.
Specifically, five asset managers, including Fidelity, VanEck, Franklin Templeton, Galaxy and Invesco, as well as ARK Invest and 21Shares have submitted amended filings. Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and ARK 21Shares have removed ETH staking from their plans.
“Neither the Trust, nor the Sponsor, nor the Custodian, nor any other person associated with the Trust will, directly or indirectly, engage in action where any portion of the Trust’s ETH becomes subject to the Ethereum proof-of-stake validation or is used to earn additional ETH or generate income or other earnings,” reads Fidelity’s amended 19b-4 filing.
The same statement can be found in amended filings of other applicants sponsored by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). A proxy statement also shows that Grayscale is no longer interested in ETH staking.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the five amendments put forward by CBOE-sponsored applicants were submitted between 9:35 pm and 10:00 pm UTC on May 21. In the words of Cinneamhain Ventures’ Adam Cochran, the removal of staking from their applications would enhance staking returns following approval.
However, Seyffart reiterated that S-1 registration statements must be signed off and accompany the approved 19b-4 filings to launch the spot ETH ETFs. “Still a potentially long way from a launch. But these filings prove that all of the rumors and speculation and chatter have been accurate,” said Seyffart.
The SEC is required to decide on VanEck’s application by May 23, but some participants within the crypto space believe that the commission will decide on all or many applicants at the same time, like how spot BTC ETFs were treated five months ago.
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