The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved nine spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These assets went live on Tuesday 23 July 2024 on the Nasdaq, NYSE Arca and Cboe BZX indices.
Crypto Gets Another Official Nod With Approval Of Ether ETFs
This approval is roughly six months after the SEC said yes to the first crypto assets in January 2024 when it gave the green light to nine bitcoin spot ETFs. Based on Reuters information, it took about 10 years for them to obtain the go-ahead as the SEC consistently maintained that digital currencies posed too many risks. The regulator only agreed after a court ruled in favour of Grayscale, a virtual assets manager.
Don’t miss out the latest news, subscribe to LeapRate’s newsletter
Analysts typed it as one of the most lucrative launches in the history of ETFs. Morningstar Direct reported that these products had accrued approximately $33bn in net income as of the end of June 2024.
Ether ETF fees start as low as 0.19% and go up to 2.5% as per Grayscale’s existing trust, which it has now converted into an ETF. On average, fees hover around 0.25%. This is more or less on par with the Bitcoin ETF fees.
According to Reuters, Grayscale will also market “mini” Ether and Bitcoin ETFs at a fee of just 0.15%. Reuters quoted Matteo Greco, a Fineqia research analyst, who noted:
Overall, market participants expect strong interest in ETH Spot ETFs and significant inflows in the first 3-6 months post-launch.
He also stated that demand for ETH ETFs will indicate how much investors favour digital assets outside of Bitcoin.
