- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently shaken by applications for Ethereum futures ETFs.
- In the past seven days, the SEC has received a total of 11 ETF applications related to Ethereum, all of which were made for futures ETFs. ProShares’ latest application was submitted on August 3rd.
- The increase in Ethereum-based ETF applications was triggered by Volatility Shares’ application for the Volatility Shares Ethereum Strategy ETF (5) on July 28th.
Competition continues among companies applying for Ethereum futures ETFs: The total number of applications has now reached 11 with the latest filing!
ProShares Joins Ethereum ETF Applications
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently shaken by applications for Ethereum futures ETFs. ProShares recently applied for an equally weighted Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, marking the 11th Ethereum ETF application in less than a week.
In the past seven days, the SEC has received a total of 11 ETF applications related to Ethereum, all of which were made for futures ETFs. ProShares’ latest application was submitted on August 3rd and proposes an ETF that includes Bitcoin and Ethereum equally weighted. According to the application, the fund will “track the performance of holding the nearest-to-expiration monthly Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts in a long position.”
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart notes that ProShares has recently filed four Ethereum-based ETF applications. These include a dual Bitcoin and Ethereum futures strategy ETF (2), a short Ethereum strategy ETF (3), and an Ethereum strategy ETF (4).
The increase in Ethereum-based ETF applications was triggered by Volatility Shares’ application for the Volatility Shares Ethereum Strategy ETF (5) on July 28th. Following this, Bitwise Asset Management, Roundhill Financial, Van Eck, ProShares, and Grayscale Investments filed new Ethereum futures applications on August 1st.
SEC Has Not Yet Approved an Ethereum Futures ETF
Despite the increase in Ethereum futures ETF applications, it is important to note that the SEC has not yet approved such an ETF. However, Bitcoin futures ETFs have been available since October 2021.
If the SEC does not reject any applications, Ethereum ETFs will be launched 75 days after the respective application dates, and the Volatility Shares ETF will commence on October 12th. The difference between futures and spot ETF products is that the former tracks the price of futures contracts, while the latter involves the issuer purchasing the underlying asset. Spot ETFs are generally considered more valid as the fund manager buys and holds the underlying asset.
The speed of Ethereum-focused applications follows a series of applications from major asset management companies aiming to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock, in particular, the world’s largest asset manager, is among those aiming to introduce the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the US.
