Fidelity Files Ethereum Spot ETF Application To Compete With BlackRock

Fidelity Investments officially submitted a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 17th, seeking approval for an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF). Cboe BZX, in turn, filed a 19b-4 document outlining a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the planned fund. Fidelity previously submitted an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF to the SEC in late June.

The race is on

In a similar vein, BlackRock, the main competitor to Fidelity, recently filed an S-1 document for its spot Ethereum ETF on November 15th, following its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June. The near-simultaneous submissions by these asset management giants may be attributed to their significant market standing.

BlackRock holds the position of the largest asset manager worldwide with $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM), while Fidelity ranks as the third biggest with $4.2 trillion in AUM. Various other asset managers have also presented applications for spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum ETFs after these high-profile submissions. The SEC is anticipated to make a decision on a Bitcoin ETF by January 10th, 2024, particularly regarding the application submitted by ARK Invest earlier in May.

All eyes on the SEC

While the SEC evaluates both spot Ethereum ETFs and spot Bitcoin ETFs separately, approval of one type of fund could set the stage for the other. It is worth noting that the SEC has not yet greenlit any Bitcoin or Ethereum spot ETFs, but it has approved futures ETFs for both types in recent months and years.

Following these developments, ETH experienced a slight increase in price and volume, gaining approximately 0.5%. Despite major Wall Street companies sequentially applying for spot Ethereum ETFs, the SEC has yet to reach a decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs.

In related news, the SEC has postponed two different Bitcoin ETF applications, including the Global X Spot BTC ETF, which had not reached its final decision date. Various analysts suggest that if Bitcoin ETFs gain approval, the likelihood of approval for Ethereum ETFs is strong.