Fidelity, a financial services giant, is looking to stake a portion of the Ether held by its proposed spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) to provide additional income to clients.

In a 19b-4 amendment filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, Fidelity mentioned that if the ETF gets approved, the fund will stake an undisclosed amount of its assets through trusted staking providers, potentially including an affiliate of the Sponsor.

While Fidelity did not disclose specific staking providers, there are various Ether staking solutions available such as Lido DAO, RocketPool, and StakeWise. Following this announcement, Lido, the staking protocol for the Ethereum network, experienced a 9% surge to $2.64 before dropping back to $2.32.

Fidelity’s move to apply for an Ethereum ETF back in November placed it in competition with other potential issuers like BlackRock, Ark Invest, and Grayscale, intensifying the race to launch the first Ethereum ETF. With the SEC’s final deadline approaching on May 23 for all eight ETFs filed by Van Eck, the pressure for approval is mounting.

Experts, including Bloomberg’s ETF specialist Eric Balchunas, currently estimate a 35% likelihood of a spot Ether ETF approval by this deadline, pointing to a lack of precedential signs observed prior to the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.

Meanwhile, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has been successful, ranking as the fifth most popular ETF and attracting around $6.9 billion in investments since its launch in January. Fidelity’s exploration into Ethereum ETFs, coupled with staking, is poised to solidify its position as a leading innovator in the digital asset sector.

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