BlackRock is making a play for a spot $ETH ETF. The news broke yesterday after a 19b-4 filing by Nasdaq for the iShares Ethereum Trust, not long after BlackRock set up a filing in Delaware. 📂
The iShares Ethereum Trust, if greenlit, would park its assets with $COIN Custody Trust Company and track the CME’s data. BlackRock’s lips are sealed for now, but the markets spoke loud and clear – Ethereum closed yesterday with a gain of +12%—the biggest daily jump since November 10, 2022 (+18%).
This Ethereum ETF saga is unfolding against a backdrop of Grayscale’s legal tango with the SEC, where a court ruled the SEC must reconsider Grayscale’s spot $BTC ETF bid.
Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas chimed in, suggesting that the SEC’s approval of Ether futures ETFs could pave the way for a spot Ether ETF. Balchunas cautions that the road to a spot Ether ETF might be a marathon, not a sprint, with a potential launch window in mid to late 2024.
The crypto community might be all in on Ethereum, but traditional finance advisors? They’re still squinting at the fine print. 👁️