The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed decision on allowing the Cboe BZX exchange to list options tied to Fidelity's Ethereum Fund until May.
SEC's Delayed Decision
According to a March 12 SEC filing, the agency has given itself until May 14 to approve or disapprove Cboe BZX's request to list options tied to the Fidelity Ethereum Fund. Initially, Cboe BZX requested to list these options in January. Listing such options can help attract institutional capital into cryptocurrency.
Flurry of Filings
In February, the SEC acknowledged more than a dozen exchange filings related to cryptocurrency ETFs, reflecting how the agency has softened its stance on crypto since President Donald Trump began his second term on January 20. On March 11, Cboe BZX sought permission to incorporate staking into Fidelity’s Ether ETF. Currently, staking is not permitted by any publicly traded US Ether fund.
Staking on Ethereum
Fidelity's FETH is among the more popular Ether ETFs, with around $780 million in net assets as of March 12. In February, the SEC delayed deciding on similar rule changes proposed by Nasdaq ISE and Cboe’s affiliate, both US-based securities exchanges. The agency intends to decide by April if Nasdaq can list options tied to BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust, which is the largest ETH ETF with more than $3.7 billion in net assets.
Spot Ether ETFs were listed in July 2024, attracting nearly $7 billion in net assets. Options provide the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a certain price, increasing interest in crypto funds.
