Ethereum Future ETFs Start Trading in US for First Time

Several Ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have started trading in the United States for the first time.

Investment firms ProShares, VanEck, Bitwise, Valkyrie, Kelly, and Volshares collectively debuted a total of nine ETFs on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Monday morning.

Proshares launched three funds: the Ether Strategy Fund (EETH), the Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BETH), and the Bitcoin and Ether Equal Strategy ETF (BETE).

Meanwhile, Bitwise debuted its Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF (AETH) and Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF (BTOP).

VanEck's Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) kicked off trading Monday, along with Valkyrie's Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF), and Volshares debuted its Ether Strategy ETF (ETHU). Brazilian fund manager Hashdex also rolled out its Ether Strategy ETF (EX).

But the nine funds got off to a slow start. As of 11:25am ET, they had traded little under $2 million in total, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Bulchunas, who described the volume as "meh" on Twitter.

Valkyrie's BTF was leading the race with around $787,000 worth of shares trading hands by that time.

The funds have a long way to go since the first Bitcoin futures ETF started trading on the New York Stock Exchange back in 2021: the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF traded nearly $1 billion in shares in one day on its debut, almost breaking records in the process.

Back then, at the height of the bull market, Bitcoin was trading for over $66,000 per coin—nearly 60% higher than it is now.

Today's crypto funds, which track the future price of Ethereum rather than the asset itself, come as investors await a spot crypto ETF. A spot ETF lets investors gain exposure to the cryptocurrency in question—without holding the actual asset—at the current price of the coin, while investing in a futures ETF is effectively a bet on a later price of the asset.

America's top regulator, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has a long list of applications from high-profile Wall Street players—including BlackRock—to make a decision on.

Until then, investors wanting exposure to cryptocurrencies will have to trade futures contracts—or buy the digital asset directly.

CoinGecko showed that the price of Ethereum at the time of writing stood at $1,690, a 24-hour rise of just 0.5%. The asset is also up almost 7% in the past seven days.