Ark Invest And 21Shares File For First US Spot Ethereum ETF

Ark Investment Management, in collaboration with 21Shares, has submitted a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first-ever spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the US, Bloomberg reported on September 6. The move comes after the regulatory authority delayed its decision on various BTC ETF applications, including one offered by ARK Invest.

Arc Invest named Coinbase Custody Trust Company as the custodian in the filing. The crypto platform would be responsible for holding the Ethereum backing the Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF shares. Moreover, if the proposed ETF is approved, it will trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.

The document did not disclose the ticker or fee for ETF. The application also revealed that the ETF would keep most of its ETH holdings in cold storage for security purposes.

CEO and CIO of Ark Invest, Cathie Wood, remarked on the plan’s ambitious nature, emphasizing the absence of a comparable Bitcoin fund.

She stated:

“There’s been so much regulatory controversy about a Bitcoin spot ETF that I guess many people thought it was a step too far — but we don’t … And it’s always nice to be first.”

Meanwhile, Ophelia Snyder, co-founder and president of 21Shares, indicated that Grayscale’s recent success in its SEC dispute, where Grayscale is pushing for the approval of its GBTC ETF conversion, played a role in the timing of their application. Snyder also noted that Ethereum’s market fundamentals were a motivating factor behind their application.

The announcement of the Ether ETF filing impacted the prices of both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). BTC saw an increase to $25,900, while ETH reached $1,655. However, these assets quickly reverted to their pre-announcement values.

Ethereum Application Came To Light After BTC Attempts

In addition to its recent Ethereum application, Ark is also actively seeking approval for the Bitcoin Spot ETF. In June, after BlackRock’s application, Ark and several other asset managers filed similar applications for Bitcoin spot ETFs. 

In August, Wood predicted that the regulator would delay a decision on new spot bitcoin ETF applications. However, she said the SEC will eventually approve multiple applications for the Spot Bitcoin ETF. This expectation is based on the similarity of most current applications.