A major player in the asset management sector, Fidelity Investments, which manages $4.5 trillion in assets, has submitted an application for a Spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) with the US SEC using an S-1 form. According to the filing made on Wednesday, Fidelity indicated their intention to introduce staking capabilities to their Ethereum Fund product.

This development comes after the recent approval of the first Spot Bitcoin ETF in the US earlier this year by the SEC. The rise of digital asset investment products was particularly evident when Fidelity was among the first eleven issuers to receive approval for a Spot Bitcoin ETF, coinciding with Bitcoin's peak value in March 2024.

The industry is optimistic about potential approvals for other cryptocurrencies following the success of Spot Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has emerged as a leading contender. Fidelity's latest filing demonstrates their commitment to expanding their offerings in the digital asset space, including a Spot Ethereum ETF.

Despite speculation and doubt surrounding the SEC's evaluation of Ethereum's security classification and the possibility of an Ethereum Spot ETF, industry experts like GrayScale’s chief legal officer Craig Salm are positive about future approval prospects. Salm referenced the prior approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF as an indication of a potentially smoother process for proposals related to Ethereum ETFs.