The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been recently inundated with applications for Ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with a grand total of 11 Ether-based filings being submitted in less than a week.
The latest ProShares ETF application was filed on Aug. 3 and proposes an equal weight Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether ETF. According to the filing, the fund will track “the performance of holding long positions in the nearest maturing monthly bitcoin and ether futures contracts.”
UPDATE: Another one…. 11 ETFs Filed… Proshares filed for a 4th ETF with Ethereum futures. This one is an equal weight #Bitcoin & #Ethereum ETF just like Bitwise’s filing which dropped an hour ago. https://t.co/vB05Wvt33e pic.twitter.com/u3I3LzznGZ
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 3, 2023
According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, fund manager ProShares has now lodged a total of four separate filings for Ether-based ETFs within the last few days, including a dual Bitcoin and Ether futures strategy ETF, a short Ether strategy ETF and an Ether strategy ETF.
The last seven days has seen a total of 11 Ether-related ETF filings, all of which have been for futures ETFs. The wave of Ether-based ETF applications was kicked off by Volatility Shares, lodging its filing for the Volatility Shares Ether Strategy ETF on July 28.
Following hot on Volatilty’s heels came Bitwise Asset Management, Roundhill Financial, Van Eck, ProShares and Grayscale Investments, who all filed new Ether futures applications on Aug. 1.
We have 7 #Ethereum Futures ETF filings from 6 Issuers. All of them are behind Volatility Shares. Key aspect here is that they are the same firm that managed to get a 2X #Bitcoin Futures ETF ( $BITX) through this SEC. https://t.co/dVpBkmtWwv pic.twitter.com/m615PS8Ssc
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 2, 2023
Notably, the SEC has never approved an ETF that tracks Ether futures contracts. On the other hand, Bitcoin futures ETFs have been around since October 2021.
If the SEC does not deny any of the applications, the Ether ETFs will launch 75 days from their respective filing dates, with Volatility Shares ETF being the first to launch on Oct. 12.
Related: Ether ETFs pending — Grayscale, VanEck and others file SEC applications
The key difference between futures and spot ETF products is that the former tracks the price of futures contracts while the latter actually involves the issuer purchasing the underlying asset. Spot ETFs are widely viewed as more valid as they involve the fund manager buying and holding the underlying asset.
The flurry of Ether-focused applications comes in the wake of a frenzy of filings from major asset management firms seeking to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is among those looking to offer what would be the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.
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