ARK and 21Shares Remove Staking Provision From Spot Ethereum ETF Application

Asset manager ARK Invest and fintech firm 21Shares have made key revisions to their application for a spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Based on the updated ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF registration statement submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 10th, the firms are scrapping the ability to stake a portion of the fund’s assets.

The amended proposal no longer includes the provision that states the issuer “may, from time to time, stake a portion of the Trust’s assets through one or more third-party staking providers.”

Staking allows cryptocurrency holders to earn rewards by locking their digital assets to a proof-of-stake (POS) blockchain to support the operation of the network.  

In a post on social media platform X, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas speculates why the staking provision was removed.

“While it may seem like this is them getting their documents in shape based on SEC comments (which would be good news) there hasn’t been any comments. So it’s probably either a Hail Mary or maybe trying to give SEC one less thing to use in their rejection. Not sure (yet).”

Balchunas previously said that the odds of the SEC greenlighting spot Ethereum ETF applications are low. 

“Regarding ETH ETF approval, we are holding the line at 25% odds although to be honest, it is a very pessimistic 25%. The lack of engagement seems to be purposeful vs. procrastination. No positive signs/intel anywhere you look. Personally hope they do approve it but it just ain’t looking good.”

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