FETH Review: Fidelity Ethereum Fund

FETH suits investors who want a Fidelity ether fund in a brokerage account that earns staking rewards, and who can accept limited staking disclosure.

FETH has no overall rating under CryptoSlate’s Ethereum ETF methodology, version eth-1.1, at the September 24, 2026 data cutoff. Five pillars are scored. The staking pillar is pending, and the method withholds the overall until every pillar is resolved.

The staking pillar multiplies the share of ether staked by the share of rewards the fund keeps. The 85% kept is fixed in FETH’s filings. The share staked is not usable yet: Fidelity’s dashboard shows “Staked % Daily Range 30 – 40%” with the point value and its date left blank. Our method uses a range only when it is dated, and FETH’s first quarterly report covering the staking period is due in mid-November.

Custody scores 6.0. Ownership terms earn full marks at every custodian, which is worth 40% of the pillar. Fidelity Digital Assets, one of three custodians, answers only for gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud, which caps safekeeping at 5 of 10. The staking providers’ terms are set in the custodians’ staking appendices, which are filed with the details blacked out, so slashing recourse scores zero.

FETH holds ether so that its shares follow ether’s price, less expenses, and it adds the staking rewards the trust keeps. It holds the ether itself and uses no futures contracts.

Shareholders own an interest in the trust. They can hold and trade that security, but they do not control the private keys to its ether.

Benchmark and How to Check Tracking

FETH values its ether using the Fidelity Ethereum Reference Rate, a Fidelity index calculated by Coin Metrics. The benchmark sets the daily price used to calculate net asset value.

Net asset value, or NAV, is the value of the trust’s assets after liabilities, divided by the number of shares. Staking rewards are paid out as quarterly cash distributions, so NAV alone understates what a shareholder earned. To judge tracking, compare the NAV return with the benchmark. To see what staking added, compare total return, including distributions, with the NAV return.

FETH added a staking program in August 2026. Staking commits ether to validators that help run the Ethereum network, which pays rewards for that work.

Neither the trust nor Fidelity has a direct contract with the staking providers. The custodians set up those arrangements, and the prospectus says the custodians’ liability for the staking providers’ actions is limited.

A fall in ether’s market price can outweigh any staking income. The exchange listing and the Fidelity name offer no protection against that price risk.

Who Holds FETH’s Ether?

FETH’s ether is held by Fidelity Digital Assets, a Fidelity affiliate, and by Anchorage Digital Bank and BitGo Bank & Trust, which were added in August 2026 to handle staking. Each keeps the trust’s ether separate from its own assets.

The custodians’ terms differ. BitGo commits to the standard of care of a prudent, professional custodian. Anchorage caps its liability at 12 months of fees unless it acts with gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud. Fidelity Digital Assets is liable only where a loss results from its gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud. Our custody score uses the weakest terms among the custodians.

If a staking provider is slashed, the loss comes out of the trust’s ether. The prospectus warns that the trust may not recover it. Anchorage’s agreement goes further: it is not liable for staked ether that is not returned unless the loss comes from its fraud or intentional misconduct.

Fund Structure and Regulatory Status

FETH is a Delaware statutory trust and is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Calling it an ETF does not give it the protections of a fund registered under that act.

Besides the 0.25% sponsor fee, FETH withholds part of its staking rewards, and trading the shares adds costs of its own.

Applying 0.25% to a hypothetical $10,000 held at a constant value for a full year gives $25. The staking cut adds a further amount that depends on how much ether is staked, which Fidelity publishes only as a range. Your costs move with the value of the holding, and trading costs come on top.

FETH trades on Cboe BZX. Brokerage access varies by account and location. Confirm the fund’s full name and ticker in your account before placing an order.

Share Price and NAV

The share price can sit above NAV, called a premium, or below it, called a discount. When authorized participants create or redeem shares with the trust, the market price tends to move back toward NAV. Check the current bid and ask prices and any broker commission before you trade.

Ether Withdrawals and Retail Shares

Buying a share does not put ether into a wallet you control. Retail investors buy and sell shares on the market. Authorized participants create and redeem blocks of 25,000 shares with the trust. That process gives an ordinary shareholder no way to withdraw ether personally.

Staking ether yourself lets you choose the validator and hold the keys, with full responsibility for the wallet. A staking service runs the validator for you, under its own terms.

FETH vs ETHA

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) charges the same fee but does not stake.

FETH adds staking rewards that ETHA does not earn, but at a lower custody score. How much staking adds depends on a staked share that Fidelity has not yet published as a single dated figure.

The pillar scores and supporting fund terms were reviewed on September 25, 2026, using ETH methodology version eth-1.1 and a September 24 data cutoff. Market figures carry their own dates in the rating. The reporting review covers the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

We reviewed Fidelity’s fund dashboard and fund page, the trust’s SEC filings, including its annual and quarterly reports, prospectus and the filed custody agreements, and third-party fund data, checked on September 24, 2026. The assessment covers fund structure, costs, custody terms and staking terms. It does not include an executed trade, an inspection of private custody systems, or a review of the redacted staking appendices.

To report an error in this review, contact CryptoSlate.