As a researcher with a background in the financial industry, I find BlackRock’s latest move in the Ethereum ETF space to be an encouraging development. The disclosure of their seed capital investor information is a positive sign that we may see more progress towards launching these funds in the coming weeks.


BlackRock has made revisions and resubmitted an application for its proposed Ethereum spot ETF. The newly released S-1 document contains additional information regarding the identity of the company’s initial investors.

Now, analysts suggest that U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could launch by late June.

BlackRock Reveals Seed Capital Investor Information

The largest asset manager globally made revisions to its S-1 registration statement with the SEC about a week after the regulatory body gave the green light to 19b-4 forms for eight proposed Ethereum ETFs, including iShares Ethereum Trust. However, both sets of filings require further approval before trading can commence for these ETFs.

BlackRock revealed new details about the seed investor who agreed to purchase $10 million in shares on May 21, 2024. Subsequently, they were allocated 400,000 shares, each priced at $25. This investor’s shares will be publicly listed and traded using the ticker symbol “ETHA.”

Eric Balchunas shared his perspectives on the project’s progression, expressing confidence in its implications. He believed others would join in shortly, possibly leading to further refinements from the team. Balchunas proposed a potential launch by the end of June but stressed that a July 4 approval held greater likelihood, considering an earlier approval as a remote possibility.

Positive development. The rest may follow suit shortly. There’s a strong likelihood of another round of adjustments from the team. A launch before the end of June is plausible, although I’m sticking with my prediction of a July 4th release date.

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 29, 2024

James Seyffart of Bloomberg, an ETF analyst, noted that BlackRock’s revised S-1 filing is likely the interaction we were anticipating following the 19b-4 approvals. The securities issuers and SEC are collaborating towards launching Ethereum spot ETFs.

Hashdex Withdraws Spot Ethereum ETF proposal

Today, a disclosure emerged revealing that Hashdex had previously withdrawn its application for a spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), following the approval of similar proposals from rivals such as BlackRock and eight other entities just the day prior.

As an analyst, I’d rephrase it this way: No details have been disclosed about Hashdex’s motivation or intent to revise their previous Ethereum ETF proposal from September 2023. Based on their initial filing, Hashdex aimed to combine holding actual Ethereum with Ethereum futures contracts within the same product to minimize potential risks of market manipulation.

Hashdex intended for its Ether ETF to mirror the day-to-day fluctuations of the Nasdaq Ether Reference Price in order to alleviate regulatory worries over potential market manipulation.

As a researcher studying the development of Ethereum Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), I’ve observed that competitors like Fidelity, ARK 21Shares, and Franklin Templeton have primarily focused on launching ETFs based on the spot price of Ethereum. In response to feedback from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), they have made adjustments late in the process, such as removing support for Ethereum staking within their ETF offerings.

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2024-05-30 13:06