U.S. paves way for Ether ETFs in test of crypto demand beyond Bitcoin
BNN Bloomberg
The crypto industry is closer to another landmark after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paved the way for the eventual launch of the first U.S. exchange-traded funds investing directly in the Ether token.
In a step deemed unlikely as recently as last week, the SEC signed off Thursday on a proposal by venues run by Cboe Global Markets Inc., Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange to list products tied to the second-biggest digital asset.
Fund managers still need a separate approval from the agency before they can launch products, for which the timeline is unclear. Assuming they get a green light, one key question is whether the Ether portfolios will generate anything like the demand stirred by the historic January debut of U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETFs.
The latter have amassed US$57 billion in assets, spurring issuers such as VanEck, ARK Investment Management, BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments to jockey for first-mover advantage in the race to launch Ether vehicles.
