The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a Securities and Exchange Commission-registered financial securities clearing company, has recently included Fidelity Investments’ US spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) in its ETF list. The fund, named Fidelity Ethereum FD Beneficial INT and listed under the ticker FETH, has been designated as a domestic fund by DTCC. However, it is currently marked as “N” in the create/redeem column, indicating that it is not yet active. The company clarified that the list includes both active ETFs that can be processed at DTCC and ETFs that are not yet active ("pre-launch"), pending all necessary regulatory and other approvals.

Alongside Fidelity, proposed spot Ether ETFs from VanEck, Franklin Templeton, and BlackRock have also been added to this list. However, DTCC emphasized that such additions are standard practice and do not necessarily imply imminent regulatory approval.

Recent Developments

Last week, the SEC approved eight 19b-4 forms for spot Ether ETFs from major financial players, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, Ark Invest, Invesco Galaxy, and Franklin Templeton. Despite this initial approval, these firms still need to obtain approval for their S-1 registration statements from the agency before their funds can commence trading.

Fidelity submitted its updated S-1 form last week, indicating its readiness to proceed pending final regulatory clearance. Similarly, BlackRock submitted its amended registration statement on Wednesday.

In contrast, investment manager Hashdex has decided to withdraw its application for a spot Ether ETF, stating that it no longer intends to proceed with a single-asset Ether ETF. The reasons for Hashdex’s withdrawal are unclear, and it is uncertain if the firm plans to resubmit its proposal in the future.

Predictions for Launch Date

As the regulatory process unfolds, market participants eagerly anticipate the potential launch of Ethereum-linked financial products. These spot Ether ETFs could potentially debut as early as mid-June, following a timeline similar to the spot Bitcoin ETF process. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas expects additional filings to follow soon and predicts a realistic launch by the end of June, with a potential launch date around July 4.

Meanwhile, Ether is currently trading around $3,750, reflecting a 3% decline from the previous day, with a trading volume of $16.8 billion, marking a 10% decrease in the last 24 hours.