‘It’s happening’ — 5 Ethereum ETF bidders amend SEC filings

Five potential spot Ether ( ETH ) exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers have submitted amended 19b-4 filings after receiving last-minute feedback from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several filings show changes from asset managers Fidelity, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton along with joint applications from Galaxy and Invesco, and ARK Invest and 21Shares.

The amendments saw Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and ARK 21Shares remove provisions for ETH staking.

"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," Fidelity's amended 19b-4 filing read.

The other Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)-sponsored applicants used similar language.

Grayscale also scrapped staking, according to a proxy statement.

However, Adam Cochran, partner at venture capital firm Cinneamhain Ventures, claims an approved spot Ether ETF without the staking element would actually boost staking returns.

"ETFs without staking provide the same crucial boost to Ethereum's legitimacy while avoiding ETF tail risk and diluting my yield," added Ryan Berckmans, Ethereum community member and investor.

All five CBOE filings came in the 25 minutes between 9:35 pm and 10:00 pm UTC on May 21, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.

The approved 19b-4 filings will need to be accompanied by signed-off S-1 registration statements for the ETFs to launch, Seyffart iterated.

“Still a potentially long way from a launch. But these filings prove that all of the rumors and speculation and chatter have been accurate,” he added.

The SEC must decide on VanEck’s application by May 23. However industry pundits tip the regulator will decide on all or most applicants similarly to how it handled spot Bitcoin ( BTC ) ETFs in January.

Related: Spot Ether ETFs will come down to a 5-person vote — Gensler the decider?

Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett  noted  that VanEck’s Ether ETF bid was  added to the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) website.

The DTCC website often lists securities eligible for trading and settlement within its systems, including ETFs that have completed particular registration or compliance processes. However, it isn't an indication it will be approved by the SEC.

BlackRock and Hashdex are the other two spot Ether ETF applicants vying for SEC approval.

It comes as the SEC reportedly started asking applicants to accelerate their 19b-4 filings on May 20.

The sudden change resulted in Seyffart and fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas raising their spot Ether ETF approval odds from 25% to 75%.

ETH is up 20.6% to around $3,800 since the SEC’s reported U-turn, according to CoinGecko.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?