Six different asset managers have filed to launch Ether (the currency of the Ethereum network) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to customers in the US, according to reports.
Grayscale, VanEck, Bitwise, Volatility Shares, ProShares and Round Hill Capital each filed with the SEC in a wave of applications to operate the first such ETF approved in the US.
Grayscale notably filed two applications, one for Grayscale Global Bitcoin Composite ETF and the other for Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF. The latter will focus on what are called front-month Ether features, which take the shortest time to mature, trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
By contrast, Volatility Shares plans to list an ETF that invests in cash-settled contracts referencing ETH trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, rather than investing directly in Ether itself.
Another unique approach is that of ProShares, which plans to list a Short Ethereum Strategy ETF, which would invest in daily contracts that would profit from losses of the S&P CME Ether Futures index. The ProShares fund would gain as much value as the index loses and vice versa.
The blitz of applications comes after the SEC approved the first Bitcoin ETF in the US in June. BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, is vying with others to offer the first Bitcoin ETFs, according to reports.
For Bradley Duke, founder and chief strategy officer at the exchange-traded product specialist ETC Group, the question is why this is happening now.
“Back in June, the SEC approved several filings for the US’s first spot Bitcoin ETF. “Now we are once again seeing a flurry of applications for futures-based Ethereum ETFs, including an inverse ‘short’ ETF from Proshares,” Duke wrote Wednesday.
“What remains a mystery is what has changed that prompted this sudden stream of applications? What does seem clear is that there seems to be a growing acceptance at the SEC that crypto is an inevitable part of America’s investment landscape, and this is good news for crypto investors and service providers around the world.”
Ethereum was valued at $1,841.68 as of Wednesday evening.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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