Fidelity Ethereum Fund Launches Staking Program and Amends Custodial Arrangements

The Fidelity Ethereum Fund has announced new custodial agreements and an amended staking program for its ether holdings. The fund signed custodial services agreements with Anchorage Digital Bank NA and another unnamed custodian on August 7, which will provide custody and safekeeping services for the fund's ether.

Under these agreements, the custodians will retain exclusive control of the private keys for any staked ether, while the fund's sponsor, FD Funds Management LLC, will facilitate the staking through trusted node operators. The fund's existing custodial arrangements with Fidelity Digital Assets remain unchanged.

The sponsor expects to begin staking activities as soon as the fund's registration statement becomes effective. Through the staking program, node operators will establish validator nodes and delegate the fund's ether, entitling it to receive staking rewards. The fund will retain 85% of these rewards, with the remainder distributed as fees among the sponsor, custodians, and node operators.