BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, officially filed an application for an Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) directly linked to the market with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 15.
The iShares Ethereum Trust ETF aims to “generally reflect the performance of the price of Ether,” as mentioned in the S-1 Form submitted by iShares, a brand associated with BlackRock’s ETF offerings. This filing follows BlackRock’s recent establishment of the iShares Ethereum Trust entity in Delaware, which occurred a week earlier. The public release of this S-1 Form took place shortly after Nasdaq’s submission for the ETF, confirming BlackRock’s pursuit of a spot ether ETF.
For its intended spot Ether ETF, BlackRock has chosen Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the custodian. Moreover, they’ve selected the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, administered by CF Benchmarks (a Kraken subsidiary), as the proposed ETF’s benchmark. These selections mirror those made for its planned spot Bitcoin ETF.
In 2023, BlackRock led the push for a spot Bitcoin ETF, underscoring institutional interest in the crypto market. Within six months, it has joined the growing list of institutions seeking approval for a spot ETH ETF.
The process for a spot ETF application involves two stages. The ETF issuer requires SEC approval from the Trading and Markets division for its 19b-4 filing and from the Corporate Finance division for its S-1 filing or prospectus.
The race for a spot Ethereum ETF in 2023 kicked off early in November when the SEC acknowledged Grayscale Investment’s attempt to transform its Ethereum trust into an ETF.
ETH has experienced a 28% increase in value over the last month.
