Ethereum
In a likely precursor to Ethereum (ETH) ETF approval, most applicants have submitted their final forms
Applicants wishing to issue exchange-traded funds linked to Ethereum’s ether (ETH) have now submitted their final documents needed to launch the funds, likely next week.
Asset managers including BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Grayscale, Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy — all of which are racing to launch ether ETFs in the U.S. — filed amended S-1 filings on Wednesday.
Two industrial sources previously told CoinDesk that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff advised them to file final amendments by Wednesday and that the applications could be considered effective — essentially, approved — by Monday, with trading to begin Tuesday.
In the filings, the potential issuers revealed final details of the fund structures, including management fees, which proved relevant to investors when choosing which bitcoin spot ETF to invest in when they launched earlier this year. Experts said the fee war This series of launches would be similar to the competitive landscape at the time, when issuers continued to lower their fees to compete with other funds.
So far, Grayscale stands out from its competitors. The asset manager has decided to charge a significantly higher fee of 2.5% on its main product than the others. Its Mini Ethereum Trust, on the other hand, is set at 0.25%, in line with the others.
“I’m not sure what Grayscale’s strategy is here,” industry commentator Scott Johnson said in a publish on X“Looks like they started with the right idea and then fizzled out somewhere along the way. Investors shorting ETHE are unlikely to be charitable with your cost-averaged mini option after you hit them with a 10x fee and forced them to take a profit.”
“Honestly, they may have had it worse than GBTC. I didn’t think it was possible,” he wrote, referring to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) which has seen billions of dollars in outflows since converting to an ETF in January, just as other Bitcoin ETFs began trading.
BlackRock and Fidelity will also charge 0.25%, while 21Shares will set its fee at 0.21%. Bitwise, VanEck and Invesco Galaxy are at the lower end of the spectrum at 0.2%, while Franklin Templeton will charge 0.19%.
ProShares had not filed an amendment disclosing its fees as of press time.
The second also approved forms 19b-4 for applications from Grayscale to launch a mini Ethereum exchange-traded product and ProShares to launch an Ethereum spot ETF on Wednesday.
Both companies are working with NYSE Arca as the exchange partner that will actually list the products. The SEC has already approved NYSE Arca, Cboe and Nasdaq’s Form 19b-4 filings for the various spot ether ETF applications. towards the end of Mayresolving a procedural obstacle and giving the strongest indication so far, it would ultimately approve spot ether ETF applications.
The timing of Wednesday’s 19b-4 approvals suggests that Grayscale and ProShares may also be able to launch their products at the same time as the other applicants. Industry sources previously told CoinDesk that they expected those products to launch next Tuesday.
If Grayscale can launch its ether mini ETF on Tuesday, it will do so before it receives approval to launch a bitcoin mini ETF. The company filed an application to launch a bitcoin mini ETF in Aprilrevealing earlier this year that it would charge a 0.15% fee – as opposed to the 0.25% of the mini ether product.