BlackRock Officially Files For Spot Ethereum ETF With The SEC

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The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has officially filed an application for a spot Ethereum ETF with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

BlackRock has already filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF back in June, which is still pending with the SEC for approval. 

BlackRock Files Spot Ethereum ETF 

In a development that could serve as a major boost to crypto, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has officially filed for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The ETF, called the iShares Ethereum Trust, seeks to “reflect generally the performance of the price of Ether (ETH),” according to the Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“The iShares Ethereum Trust (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust that issues shares (“Shares”) representing fractional undivided beneficial interests in its net assets. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of ether held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust. The Trust seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of ether. The Trust seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Trust’s expenses and liabilities.”

The Form S-1 comes only a week after BlackRock registered the iShares Ethereum Trust entity with the Delaware Department of State Division of Corporations. Hours later, Nasdaq filed for the proposed ETF, confirming that BlackRock was indeed working on a spot Ether ETF. The asset manager has chosen the Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the custodian for its proposed spot, Ethereum ETF. Furthermore, the CME CF of Bitcoin Reference Rate from administrator CF Benchmarks, a subsidiary of Kraken, has been selected as the proposed ETF’s benchmark. These selections align with the ones made for the proposed spot Bitcoin ETF. 

Bitcoin ETF Still Awaits Approval 

Meanwhile, BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF is still awaiting approval from the SEC. The asset manager had filed for the iShares Bitcoin Trust back in June. The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing multiple spot Bitcoin ETF applications apart from the one from BlackRock. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ticker, IBTC, has been on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp website since August. However, the ticker was only noticed last month. 

Several trading firms, such as Virtu Financial, Jane Street, and Jump Trading, are in talks with BlackRock to provide liquidity for its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF if it gets regulatory clearance from the SEC. Bitcoin’s price has seen a considerable jump over the past month as anticipation surrounding the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF grows. Last month, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink stated that the rally in the price of Bitcoin was triggered by false new reports that the SEC had approved its spot ETF. He added that this was an example of the “pent-up interest in crypto.” 

“Some of this rally is way beyond the rumor. I think the rally today is about a flight to quality, with all the issues around the Israeli war now, global terrorism. I think there are more people running into a flight to quality, whether that is in Treasuries, gold, or crypto, depending on how you think of it. And I believe crypto will play that type of role, as a flight to quality.”

ETH And BTC Prices Spike Following BlackRock Application 

Bitcoin and Ethereum both saw their prices turn positive minutes after BlackRock filed for its Spot Ethereum ETF. Bitcoin is currently trading at $36,300 and could look to break past the $38,000 mark. Meanwhile, Ethereum, which is trading around $1979, could move beyond the $2100 mark. Both cryptocurrencies saw a jump of around 4% following BlackRock’s application. 

Institutional investors have long called Ethereum the new silver and Bitcoin the new gold. The potential of a combined approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF and a spot Ethereum ETF could trigger a bullish trend in 2024 and 2025. When the SEC approved BlackRock’s application for a Spot Gold ETF in 2004, the prices of the precious metal surged by almost 350%.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.