Cboe Updates Filings to Include Ether Staking in Proposed ETFs

Cboe Resubmits Filings to SEC to Enable Ether Staking in ETFs

Cboe has filed amended 19b-4 documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requesting approval for staking in spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The filing has fueled optimism in the market, contributing to a 2% rise in ETH’s price over the past 24 hours.

When spot Ether ETFs were first introduced in July, issuers had initially proposed staking rewards as part of their offerings. However, the SEC blocked the feature, requiring it to be removed before granting approval. Now, with new leadership at the SEC, Cboe has filed for Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) and Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET) to reintegrate staking.

The regulatory shift follows the departure of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Paul Atkins, Trump’s nominee to lead the agency, is awaiting Senate confirmation, while acting Chair Mark Uyeda has already taken a more favorable stance on crypto ETFs, raising expectations that staking approvals could follow soon.

“There’s momentum building for staking to be included in ETFs, and we think it’s likely to happen before the end of the year,” said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Meanwhile, ETF issuers are expanding their focus beyond Ethereum. Over the past week, new ETF filings for Sui (SUI) and Aptos (APT) were made in Delaware, while the SEC is actively reviewing applications for Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) ETFs.