Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest joins VanEck in race for spot Ethereum ETF

Happy Thursday!

Ark Invest joined VanEck in the race for the first spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund on Wednesday. The fund managers’ applications come weeks after a slew of Ethereum futures ETF applications were made — which are yet to be approved.

Let’s get into it!

Ethereum ETF race

Despite approvals of spot Bitcoin ETFs being far from a certainty, fund managers already jostle for a spot Ethereum product.

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest filed an application for a spot Ethereum ETF on Wednesday alongside VanEck — who had originally filed an application in July 2021 but not its 19b–4, a form used by companies to inform the SEC of its plans to file for an ETF. Yesterday’s filing officially starts the decision clock for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, giving them up to 240 days to respond.

Both plan to trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Ark Invest and 21Shares want to “increase access and exposure to crypto-backed assets, beyond Bitcoin,” Cathie Wood and 21Shares CEO and co-founder Hany Rashwan said in a joint statement shared with DL News.

“As the regulatory environment changes, we are committed to innovating, developing and launching products providing efficient and regulated ways to access Ethereum in the market,” the pair concluded.

The news comes hot on the heels of several Ethereum futures ETF applications filed at the beginning of August. Futures ETFs track the value of Ethereum futures prices on the CME, as opposed to spot ETFs which track the underlying assets value in real-time.

In August it was reported that the SEC was poised to approve the sale of futures ETF for Ethereum. Some analysts expect this could ignite a brutal fee war between issuers jostling to attract investors.

The latest round of applications follow last week’s courtroom win for Grayscale. The asset manager is fighting to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF and has faced numerous rejections from the SEC. Its courtroom win led many experts to say a spot Bitcoin ETF is a matter of when, not if.

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin was flat over the past 24 hours, trading around $25,700. The leading asset by market capitalisation could face more downward price pressure as the US dollar strengthens. Typically Bitcoin and the US dollar have an inverse relationship, so the price of Bitcoin drops as the dollar appreciates. The dollar index is up 1.8% in the past week.
• Ethereum slipped 0.2% in the past day, to trade at about $1,630.

What we’re reading

• How Ripple’s lobbying sets stage for $3m crypto clash on Capitol Hill — DL News
• Asian crime gangs turn to human trafficking to expand ‘pig butchering’ crypto scams — DL News
• From cute selfies to death threats — here’s how a fraud victim turned crusader is fighting the cruelest of crypto crimes — DL News