Volatility Shares To Launch Ether Strategy ETF (ETHU) In October

Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, announced that Volatility Shares is set to launch the Ether Strategy ETF (ETHU) on 12 October 2023. If approved by the regulatory authority, ETHU will become the first ETF to provide Ether-linked exposure to institutional clients in the US. This latest progress comes after the effective launch of the 2x Bitcoin-linked ETF (BITO) on the platform back in July.

VolatilityShares announcing they intend to list their Ether Futures ETF on Oct 12th (which would be a day or two ahead of the rest of pack (if the 75 days is adhered to).. they did same thing w $BITX pic.twitter.com/hhFtk32f4X

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 15, 2023

Notably, Volatility Shares still need approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for their application. However, Eric Balchuinas is optimistic about the possibility of approval.

He stated:

“Well, there’s been no withdrawals so SEC looks to be ok with them, but re the date, he did file first so he would normally go out first. but SEC may want to group them, he’s prob just pushing the envolope like he did w BITX”.

On July 28, Volatility Shares filed for its Ether Strategy ETF. With a timeline of 75 days for the approval process, the potential approval date might fall around October 12th. 

Volatility Shares’ push for an Ether Strategy ETF is not a solo incident in the crypto market. Major financial institutions have joined the race for the Ether Futures ETFs. Six significant entities, including ProShares, Grayscale,  Bitwise, VanEck, and Roubhill, have submitted their applications to SEC. However, the financial regulator has not yet given its approval to any Ether Futures ETF.

Bitwise has also revised its application for the Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF to the Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF, reflecting the growing demand for Ethereum Futures ETFs in the industry.

Analyst Predictions For Ethereum ETFs

Financial analysts and crypto experts closely monitor the progress of Ether Strategy ETF. Bloomberg analysts adjusted their forecast for the US SEC’s stance on crypto ETFs. 

Their latest forecast shows a 65% chance of the spot Bitcoin ETF being approved in 2023, up from 50% just a few weeks ago. Additionally, their estimate for the Ethereum ETF’s probability of approval is 75%.

On the other hand, Balchunas is highly confident with a 95% probability of Ether futures gaining approval. John Reid Stark, former SEC official, believes the SEC will reject the new requests for Bitcoin ETF. 

ETH saw an inflow of $2.5 million last week, bringing August outflows down to $4.1 million, according to CoinShares. However, year-to-date outflows stood at $73 million.