As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delays a decision on Ark Investment Management’s spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, the firm has come up with an investment vehicle for investing in ethereum (ETH).
In a Sept. 6 filing, Ark Invest and 21Shares requested SEC approval to list shares of the spot ETH ETF on the Cboe BZX exchange. The investment vehicle, called the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF, will have cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase as custodian and will measure the performance of ether against the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CF ether-dollar reference rate.
BOOM: ARK Just Filed First Ether Spot ETF, More May Be Coming pic.twitter.com/PjK5aSNPlS
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) September 6, 2023
Ark Invest and 21Shares’ proposal is one of many spot crypto ETFs that will be scrutinized by the SEC. Many firms appear to be hoping for regulatory approval after asset manager Grayscale won an appeal asking the SEC to reconsider allowing its bitcoin trust to go public as a BTC ETF.
On August 31, two days after making a decision on the Grayscale ETF, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it would delay deciding whether to approve or reject the spot bitcoin ETF applications of seven companies, including the world’s largest BlackRock. The spot bitcoin ETFs of Ark Invest and 21Shares were not included in the delay, as their next deadlines for approval, rejection or delay are not until November 11.
related: Cryptocurrency Markets ‘Greatly Undervalued’ How Bullish Spot Bitcoin ETF Is
The current iteration of Ark Invest and 21Shares’ bitcoin investment vehicle is the firm’s third attempt since 2021 to launch a cash bitcoin ETF. In August, the two firms also proposed listing two ETH futures ETFs — ETFs tied to cryptocurrency futures have seen even more success in 2021, after receiving multiple approvals and receiving SEC approval.
The price of ETH briefly rose following news of the ETF filing. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, ETH prices rose about 3 percent from $1,623 to $1,669 before returning to a range between $1,620 and $1,640.
Magazine: SEC Delays BTC ETF Decision, Grayscale Wins SEC, BitBoy Fired: Hodler’s Digest, Aug. 27-Sept. 2
