Fidelity Applies for Ethereum Spot ETF, Introduces “Collateralized” Service to Generate Additional Revenue! Lido and RocketPool Soar in Response

Asset management giant Fidelity has submitted a revised application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its Ethereum spot ETF, proposing to allow the ETF to “stake” a portion of its Ethereum assets, potentially generating additional income for the fund. Although Fidelity did not specifically name the staking service provider in the filing, the news caused the price of LidoDAO (LDO) to briefly surge by 11% early in the morning. However, the price quickly retreated along with the overall market, and at the time of writing, it had decreased by 9.4% in the past 24 hours. Another well-known Ethereum staking service provider, RocketPool (RPL), also experienced a significant increase of over 11% and briefly surpassed $30 before settling at $28.31, with a 1.9% decrease in the past 24 hours. Fidelity’s inclusion of staking measures in its Ethereum spot ETF is seen as a positive development for Ethereum staking service providers. However, it is worth noting that the SEC has twice postponed its decision on the Ethereum spot ETF applications from Fidelity and BlackRock, since Fidelity first submitted its application in November last year. Some experts are pessimistic about the prospect of the SEC approving the Ethereum spot ETF before the key date of May 23. Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett revealed last week that the SEC has not been actively advancing the approval process for Ethereum spot ETFs, as it has done for Bitcoin spot ETFs. Additionally, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a prominent critic of cryptocurrencies, is leading opposition to the approval of such applications. Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, also expressed a less optimistic view this month, as SEC staff have not provided any comments to the issuers yet. Analysts at crypto exchange BloFin recently listed the main reasons why the SEC may reject the Ethereum spot ETF in May, including the “securitization risk” of Ethereum, the higher manipulation risk compared to Bitcoin, and concerns regarding Ethereum’s proof-of-stake mechanism.