After the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unexpectedly approved several Ethereum spot ETFs in May, some experts now claim that these new financial instruments will start trading before the end of July.
For beginners, an ETF or Exchange-Traded Fund is an investment vehicle that makes it possible for investors to acquire shares that track a particular asset’s price. For instance, ETFs can track the price of gold, cryptocurrencies, and even foreign currencies.
Prior to approving the Ethereum spot ETFs, the SEC gave the green light to Bitcoin spot ETFs in January after many years of denials. At the time, the approval fueled massive inflows into the BTC market, causing the coin to rally significantly.
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As mentioned earlier, the SEC’s approval for Ethereum spot ETFs was unexpected due to regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Moreover, SEC chair Gary Gensler labeled Ethereum as security in the past, a move that made many crypto enthusiasts pessimistic over the approval of these ETFs.
However, ETF analysts from Bloomberg say the filing of the final paperwork is almost complete, and if all goes well, American investors will get exposure to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, before July ends.
That said, here are the Ethereum spot ETFs expected to begin trading soon.
BlackRock
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, filed for an Ethereum spot ETF in November 2023. Known as iShares Ethereum Trust, the ETF was approved by the SEC in May. Following the approval, BlackRock’s boss, Larry Fink, said he was bullish on the Ethereum ecosystem and that the ETF would help traditional investors explore the network.
Grayscale
Grayscale, a well-known crypto asset management company, saw its “Grayscale Ethereum ETF” approved by the SEC after submitting its application in October 2023. It is worth mentioning that the firm has been offering an Ethereum Trust product over the past few years. The conversion of the Trust to an ETF will allow existing and new investors to redeem their shares with ETH whenever they want. The SEC also allowed Grayscale to convert its Bitcoin Trust to an ETF in January.
Further, Grayscale’s application for “Mini ETH ETF,” an investment vehicle that would come with reduced fees compared to the firm’s main Ethereum ETF, was approved in mid-July.
Before these recent approvals, the SEC previously refused to approve Grayscale’s filings to offer crypto spot ETFs. Things turned around in 2023 when a US court ruled in favor of Grayscale, arguing that the SEC lacked a comprehensive explanation for blocking the asset manager from converting its crypto products to ETFs.
Ark Invest
Tech investment company ARK Invest submitted its proposal for an Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund to the SEC in September 2023. In the application, the firm mentioned 21Shares, a crypto ETF issuer, as its partner. Also, Crypto exchange Coinbase was listed as the custodian of the ETH backing ARK Invest’s ETF shares.
ProShares
ProShares’ Ethereum spot ETF, Ether Strategy, was among the last to be approved by the SEC. Besides a spot fund, ProShares applied for an Ethereum futures ETF, which has yet to receive a green light from the Gensler-led regulator.
Fidelity
Fidelity, a massive financial service company in the US, partnered with stock exchange Cboe to file for an Ethereum spot ETF in November. In March, the firm made a fresh ETF filing, which was accepted by the SEC in May.
VanEck
VanEck first filed for an Ethereum spot ETF in 2021. A few months later, the asset manager withdrew its application and then submitted a new one in 2023. VanEck’s Bitcoin spot ETF is already performing excellently. The firm’s leadership hopes that the approved Ethereum spot ETF will mirror the performance of the Bitcoin ETF.
Hashdex
Brazilian asset manager Hashdex collaborated with stock exchange Nasdaq to apply for Ethereum spot ETF, which received approval in May. Hashdex already issues multiple crypto ETFs in the Brazilian market.
Other Ethereum spot ETFs approved by the SEC were proposed by Frank Templeton, Invesco, and Bitwise.