Grayscale Investments has applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a new crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF). Unlike the flurry of Bitcoin spot ETFs still sitting with the regulator, however, this one would be an Ethereum futures ETF.
Paperwork filed by the firm on Tuesday showed that the fund would "not transact in Ether and will not be required to retain an Ether custodian" and instead would deal strictly in futures.
Grayscale's filing comes after the asset manager last month scored a victory Wall Street's biggest regulator when a federal judge decided to overturn the SEC's decision to block Grayscale from converting its Bitcoin trust into a spot ETF.
Now, as Grayscale awaits approval for its Bitcoin ETF, it is hoping an Ethereum futures ETF will get the green light from the SEC.
What Grayscale’s Win Means for Bitcoin ETFs—And What It Doesn't
A federal judge’s bombshell decision to side with Grayscale's fight for a spot Bitcoin ETF sent shockwaves through the crypto world yesterday. At a time when regulators are cracking down on digital asset companies like never before and the crypto market is largely stagnant, optimism has flooded back into the sphere. Bitcoin—and Bitcoin-related assets—bolted upwards following news that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had seemingly paved the way for long-awaited spot crypto exchan...
The SEC first approved a Bitcoin futures ETF—which allows investors to bet on the future price of digital assets— in 2021. Such investment vehicles track the price of cryptocurrencies but do not store crypto.
Investors are really hungry for spot crypto ETFs, and the SEC is currently reviewing a number of such applications—including one from the world's top asset manager, BlackRock.
A crypto ETF would give traditional investors exposure to the asset in a safer way: ETFs are investment vehicles that allow people to buy shares that track the price of an underlying asset, and a Bitcoin ETF would allow investors to invest in the asset without having to worry about storing and protecting their cryptocurrency holdings.
