Cathie Wood's Ark Invest is seeking approval to launch the US first spot Ethereum ETF. This development, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday.
Ark Invest and 21Shares Are Seeking SEC Approval To Launch A Revolutionary Spot Ethereum ETF
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest is seeking approval to launch the US first spot Ethereum ETF. This development, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, comes amid growing anticipation for the regulatory approval of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
Ark Invest's proposed ETF, known as the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF, mirrors the applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have recently faced delays by the SEC. The regulatory agency announced last week that it requires additional time to evaluate these applications, partly due to the recent courtroom victory of Grayscale.
Coinbase has been named as the custodian for Ark Invest's ETF, meaning the popular cryptocurrency exchange would safeguard the Ethereum assets backing the shares of the ETF. Trading of the ETF itself is planned to take place on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
While the SEC has received numerous applications for futures-based Ethereum ETFs, Ark Invest's initiative represents a notable step forward, especially considering that futures-based Bitcoin ETFs have been trading in the U.S. since 2021.
There is growing optimism that the SEC may approve a wave of Ethereum futures ETFs, tracking derivatives traded on the CFTC-regulated Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), as early as October.
Ark Invest's pursuit of a spot Ethereum ETF comes after a similar prolonged process for a spot Bitcoin ETF application, which the firm initially filed in June 2021.
