Ethereum Futures ETF Could Be Coming: Will ETH Follow Bitcoin’s Performance?

• Volatility Shares, a pioneer in the ETF field, has announced its intention to launch the Ether Strategy ETF (Ticker: ETHU) on October 12, 2023.
• Stuart Barton, CIO of Volatility Shares, expressed his hopes and said, “Volatility Shares successfully launched the first 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) in July.”
• A total of 13 financial institutions, including Bitwise, VanEck, Valkyrie, Roubhill, ProShares, and Grayscale, are aiming to obtain SEC approval for Ethereum Futures ETFs.

Volatility Shares, a pioneer in the ETF field, plans to launch the Ether Strategy ETF soon; How will this affect?

Ethereum Futures ETF is Getting Ready for Launch

The crypto space is on the verge of a potentially historic moment with the first Ethereum Futures ETF in the United States. Volatility Shares, a pioneer in the ETF field, has announced its intention to launch the Ether Strategy ETF (Ticker: ETHU) on October 12, 2023. If all goes as planned, this could be the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Ether in the United States.

Volatility Shares has based the ETF on cash-settled Ethereum futures contracts traded on the CBOE. Importantly, the ETF avoids direct investment in Ethereum. The SEC filing stated:

“The Fund is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in cash-settled contracts referencing Ethereum… The Fund does not invest directly in Ethereum.”

Stuart Barton, CIO of Volatility Shares, expressed his hopes and said, “Volatility Shares successfully launched the first 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) in July and believes that ETHU is the logical next step before returning to the spot markets.”

Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg, highlighted the bold timeline of Volatility Shares:

“VolatilityShares announced that they aim to list the Ether Futures ETF on October 12 (if 75 days are followed, it would be one or two days before the others)… They did the same with $BITX.”

When asked about the likelihood of SEC approval, he commented, “There hasn’t been a withdrawal, so it appears that the SEC has given approval… they are probably pushing the boundaries as they did with $BITX.”

Despite being a pioneer, Volatility Shares is not alone in this endeavor. A total of 13 financial institutions, including Bitwise, VanEck, Valkyrie, Roubhill, ProShares, and Grayscale, are aiming to obtain SEC approval for Ethereum Futures ETFs. However, the SEC has not yet approved any of them.

Can Ethereum Reflect BTC’s 2021 Rally?

Notably, the first Bitcoin futures ETF in the United States was launched on October 19, 2021. At that time, ProShares gained the first-mover advantage. And it paid off. Total assets in Bitcoin futures ETFs reached $1.3 billion. Nearly $1.1 billion of that is in ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). The second-largest ETF is ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF with $73 million.

When the first Bitcoin futures ETF was launched, BTC was in the midst of the 2021 bull run. Prior to the launch of the futures ETF, BTC rallied 60% from October 1 to October 19, reaching $66,970. Over the next seven days, BTC experienced a correction of approximately 14%, followed by reaching an all-time high of $69,000.

Whether ETH will experience a similar enthusiasm to Bitcoin in 2021 remains to be seen. At least the environment is different. While BTC is in a full-fledged bull market, the crypto market is currently in a consolidation phase before a new bull market begins. However, undoubtedly, the first Ethereum Futures ETF has the potential to be a catalyst for the ETH price.