ARK Invest/21 Shares Cuts Staking From ETH ETF Application

ARK Invest and 21Shares' proposed Ethereum ETF will no longer include staking, according to a recent filing by the firm.

In its initial filing, ArkInvest/21 Shares had featured a staking component in its application, stating that the "sponsor may, from time to time, stake a portion of the Trust’s assets through one or more trusted Staking Providers." The phrase is not found in the latest filing.

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest did not state why the staking component had been recalled but Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas suggests the move could expedite the firm's application with the SEC.

"While it may seem like this is them getting their docs in shape based on SEC comments (which would be good news) there hasn’t [sic] been any comments," Balchunas said. "So its [sic] prob either a Hail Mary or maybe trying to give SEC one less thing to use in their rejection. Not sure (yet)." 

21 Shares serves as the sponsor of the trust, while Delaware Trust Company is the trustee, and Coinbase Custody Trust Company is the ether custodian.

Balchunas lowered his Ethereum ETF probability last month from 70% to 25%.

Having already delayed its decision from January to March to May, the SEC once again delayed its decision last week on whether to approve ETH ETHs to 5 July 2025.

This time, the SEC has asked for comments on all five of Cboe’s ETF applications: Wise Origin, WisdomTree, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, and ARK/21 Shares.

SEC Unsurprisingly Delays ETH ETF Decision (Again)

The SEC has pushed its decision on whether to approve ETH ETFs to 5 July 2024

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