Fidelity Investments has officially granted its crypto-based exchange-traded products the authority to stake up to 100% of their underlying digital assets to generate network rewards. According to recent disclosures, the Fidelity Solana Fund (FSOL) has moved aggressively on this front, reporting that 99.64% of its Solana holdings were staked as of June 30. While the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) also possesses the power to stake its holdings, it has not yet disclosed a specific amount currently participating in the validation process, highlighting a more cautious rollout for its Ether assets.
The primary benefit of this strategy is the accumulation of staking rewards, which can effectively offset management fees or increase the fund's net asset value (NAV), making the ETF more attractive to yield-hungry institutional investors. However, Fidelity is simultaneously outlining the inherent risks of this approach, specifically regarding "exit delays." Unlike spot crypto holdings that can be traded instantly, staked assets are subject to unbonding periods—a mandatory waiting time before assets can be moved or sold. If the fund faces a surge in redemption requests during a period of high network congestion, these delays could impact the fund's ability to provide immediate liquidity.
From a regulatory and market perspective, Fidelity’s move signals a growing maturity in how traditional finance firms handle Proof-of-Stake (PoS) assets. In the United States, the SEC has previously scrutinized staking services, making Fidelity’s transparent disclosure of exit risks a critical step for compliance and investor protection. By formalizing the 100% staking threshold, Fidelity is positioning its products to compete not just on price exposure, but on the total return generated by the underlying blockchain mechanics.
Investors should closely monitor the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) to see if it follows the high-allocation lead of the Solana fund. Because Ethereum does not have a fixed, guaranteed exit timeline for unstaking—depending instead on a dynamic exit queue—the liquidity profile of FETH may remain more conservative than FSOL. Furthermore, the market will be watching to see if other major issuers like BlackRock or Franklin Templeton follow suit, which could lead to a significant portion of ETF-held crypto being locked in network validation, potentially reducing the active circulating supply of these major tokens.