SEC postpones ruling on Fidelity Ether ETF options

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed ruling on whether or not to permit Cboe BZX Exchange to list options tied to asset manager Fidelity’s Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETFs). 

The agency has given itself until May 14 to approve or disapprove of Cboe BZX’s request to list options tied to Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH), according to a March 12 SEC filing. 

Cboe BZX initially requested to list options on Fidelity’s Ether ETFs in January, the filing said. 

Listing options on Ether funds is an important step in attracting institutional capital to the cryptocurrency.

Ether ETFs by net assets. Source: VettaFi

Related: SEC acknowledges slew of crypto ETF filings as reviews, approvals accelerate

In February, the SEC acknowledged more than a dozen exchange filings related to cryptocurrency ETFs, according to records.

The SEC’s acknowledgments highlight how the agency has softened its stance on crypto since US President Donald Trump started his second term on Jan. 20.

On March 11, Cboe BZX asked regulators for permission to incorporate staking into Fidelity’s Ether ETF. Staking is not yet permitted by any publicly traded US Ether fund. 

Staking Ether enhances returns and involves posting ETH as collateral with a validator in exchange for rewards.

Fidelity’s FETH is among the more popular Ether ETFs, with around $780 million in net assets as of March 12, according to data from VettaFi. 

In February, the SEC delayed deciding on similar rule changes proposed by Nasdaq ISE and Cboe’s affiliate, Cboe Exchange — both US-based securities exchanges. 

The agency intends to decide by April if Nasdaq can list options tied to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). 

BlackRock’s fund is the largest ETH ETF, with more than $3.7 billion in net assets, VettaFi’s data shows.

It will rule on Cboe Exchange’s bid to list options on Fidelity’s Ether fund in May. 

Spot Ether ETFs were listed in July 2024 and have proceeded to attract nearly $7 billion in net assets, according to VettaFi’s data. 

Options are contracts granting the right to buy or sell — “call” or “put,” in trader parlance — an underlying asset at a certain price.

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