Grayscale Investments has dropped the staking proposal from its planned spot Ether ETF. The amendment to the preliminary proxy statement, filed on Tuesday, reflects this change. Grayscale had previously proposed staking ether through the trust, but this language is absent in the latest filing for the Grayscale Ethereum Trust.
Other issuers, including Fidelity, have removed staking components from their Ethereum ETF applications. Fidelity removed staking rewards from its S-1 registration statement earlier on Tuesday. ETF analyst at Bloomberg James Seyffart noted that Grayscale’s decision was expected pointing towards the shift from staking in spot Ethereum ETF applications.
Grayscale filed a Form 19b-4 alongside NYSE Arca in October to convert its Ethereum trust into a spot Ether ETF. This follows Grayscale’s successful conversion of its Bitcoin trust to a spot Bitcoin ETF after a court victory and SEC approval in January.
Moreover, Grayscale also canceled its application for an Ethereum futures ETF. As noted by Seyffart, this move might be strategic to protect its primary utility, the Ethereum spot ETF application. The SEC may allow futures ETFs to address investor demand while denying spot ETFs.
