FETH adds Anchorage Digital and BitGo as custodians, clears path to ether staking
In focus for FETH: Fidelity Ethereum Fund signed custodial services agreements with Anchorage Digital Bank NA and BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. on August 7, 2026, establishing the custody infrastructure for a staking program…
Key takeaways
- Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) signed custodial services agreements with Anchorage Digital Bank NA and BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. on August 7, 2026, to build the infrastructure for an ether staking program.
- The Trust retains 85% of staking rewards, while the remaining 15% goes to the sponsor and is shared among the sponsor, custodians, and node operators.
- Staking is expected to begin as soon as practicable after the fund's Form S-3 registration statement takes effect, following a pre-effective amendment filed with the SEC on July 24, 2026.
- The fund plans quarterly cash distributions to FETH shareholders, funded by net staking income after Trust expenses.
- Anchorage Digital Bank NA and BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. join Fidelity Digital Assets, N.A. as custodians, with custodians retaining exclusive control of the private keys for staked ether at all times.
In focus for FETH: Fidelity Ethereum Fund signed custodial services agreements with Anchorage Digital Bank NA and BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. on August 7, 2026, establishing the custody infrastructure for a staking program that keeps 85% of rewards within the Trust. The next confirmable milestone is the effective date of the fund's Form S-3 registration statement, a pre-effective amendment to which was filed with the SEC on July 24, 2026.
The custody structure
Anchorage Digital Bank NA, regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., a national banking association, join Fidelity Digital Assets, N.A. as custodians for the Trust's ether. The existing Fidelity Digital Assets arrangement is unaffected by the new agreements.
Under the setup, FD Funds Management LLC, the fund's sponsor, will direct the custodians to stake the Trust's ether with one or more node operators. Those node operators establish validator nodes on the Ethereum network, delegating the Trust's ether to those nodes to generate rewards. The custodians maintain exclusive possession and control of the private keys for any staked ether at all times.
Reward split and amended agreements
The Trust retains 85% of staking rewards. The remaining 15% flows to the sponsor as partial consideration for arranging the staking program, then gets shared among the sponsor, the custodians, and the node operators.
That split is embedded in two agreements signed August 7: an Amended and Restated Sponsor Agreement between the Trust and FD Funds Management LLC, and a Third Amended and Restated Trust Agreement between the sponsor and CSC Delaware Trust Company, the fund's trustee.
Quarterly distributions to shareholders
The fund plans quarterly cash distributions to FETH shareholders, funded by net staking income after Trust expenses. To generate that cash, the Trust may sell staking rewards or a portion of its ether holdings. The filing notes that ether sales for this purpose could affect both the Trust's exposure to ether and the net asset value of the shares.
What to watch
Staking activities are expected to begin as soon as practicable after the Registration Statement takes effect. The pre-effective amendment to that Form S-3 was filed July 24, 2026. Cynthia Lo Bessette, President and Principal Executive Officer of FD Funds Management LLC, signed the August 10, 2026 current report. FETH trades on the Cboe BZX Exchange.