SEC delays several Ethereum ETFs, pushing final decision to May

December 19, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ethereum futures ETFs garner lukewarm reception on first day of trading

October 3, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Day one trading volume across all nine products stood at less than $2 million.

The rush of excitement that accompanied the launch of nine new Ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appears to have yielded little in the way of investment dollars in comparison.

On Oct. 2, nine new ETF products, which are designed to track futures contracts tied to the value of Ethereum’s native currency Ether (ETH) arrived on the market. Of these funds only five hold exclusively Ether futures, while the other four track a mixture of Bitcoin and ETH futures contracts.

“Pretty meh day of volume,” wrote senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Oct. 2.

Unprecedented day today with multiple ETFs all launching at same time. No clear winner has emerged, all of them were pretty average, lower than I would have predicted, but its a long run and remember, these hold futures (ETF investors much prefer physical to derivatives) https://t.co/fKGOv8T7pP
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 2, 2023

In total, all nine ETFs witnessed less than $2 million worth of trading volume as of midday EST on the first day of trading.

The most popular of the futures ETF products was Valkyrie's BTF — which tracks a combination of Bitcoin and Ether — racking up a total of $882,000 worth of volume.

It’s worth noting that BTF had already been trading as a Bitcoin-only futures ETF since Oct. 2021, but adjusted its strategy to include ETH.

The first-day trading volume of the Ether ETFs paled in comparison to that of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which debuted in October 2021 during a roaring market for crypto assets. BITO witnessed more than $1 billion in trading volume on its first day.

However, Balchunas noted that compared to a regular traditional finance ETF launch, the volume witnessed was actually “quite a lot,” though investors tend to prefer spot ETF products over futures.

Balchunas explained that all of the products were scheduled for launch on the same day as the SEC wanted to prevent any one fund from gaining market domination.

Meanwhile, while a range of United States firms jostled for pole position in the nascent Ether futures market, ETF firm Volatility Shares canceled its plans to list a similar product, saying that it “didn’t see an opportunity” at the current time.

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Ether ETF applications flood the SEC as ProShares files the 11th

August 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin etf

ProShares has filed for an equal weight Bitcoin and Ether ETF, marking the 11th Ether ETF application in less than seven days.

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.

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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Kelly Strategic Management files for Ethereum futures ETF

November 30, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Following Kelly Strategic Management’s filing for an Ether futures ETF, analysts questioned whether SEC chairman Gary Gensler is “mentally ready” to approve anything other than a BTC futures product.

Denver-based investment firm Kelly Strategic Management has filed for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to Ethereum (ETH) futures contracts.

The move comes just three months after VanEck and ProShares suddenly withdrew their ETH futures ETF applications on the same day in August.

According to a Nov. 29 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Kelly Ethereum Ether Strategy ETF will invest in cash-settled Ether futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

Bloomberg’s Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted on Twitter today that Kelly’s Ether ETF may have a slim 20% chance of getting approval, as he questioned whether the “SEC is ready for this new step.”

In Balchunas’ view, he thinks that SEC chairman Gary Gensler is “not mentally ready” to approve anything other than a Bitcoin (BTC) futures ETF at this stage:

“During the Bitcoin futures filing process in Aug, VanEck and ProShares filed for Ether ETFs too. SEC told them to withdraw them. It's now 3 months (and 3 successful Bitcoin ETF futures ETF launches) later.”

Balchunas added that if the rumors were true that the SEC told VanEck and ProShares to withdraw their respective Ether ETF filings as they provided exposure to crypto assets other than BTC, Kelly’s ETF would have a 1% chance of approval.

Just had quick chat with @JSeyff and our early, rough odds of approval of this ETF is about 20% unless this @twobitidiot rumor is correct, then we'd obv go way lower like 1% (altho we still see multiple ETFs holding $ETHE) https://t.co/Ba4yRMsGS6
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 29, 2021

Researcher Jason Lowery commented "I would be surprised if SEC approved an ETH ETF b/c it tacitly signals acceptance of ETH as not being an unregistered security."

The SEC has approved multiple BTC futures ETFs in the latter half of 2021, but it appears that the regulatory body is currently not willing to sign off on any type of fund that offers exposure to crypto outside of CME BTC futures contracts.

Earlier this month, Anna Paglia the global head of ETFs and indexed strategies at Invesco highlighted as such, as she explained that her firm’s decision to pull its BTC Futures ETF was that the SEC only approves Bitcoin ETFs with 100% exposure to Bitcoin futures.

Invesco’s ETF was aiming to provide a mix of futures swaps, physical Bitcoin, and private funds in the Bitcoin industry.