- ProShares' latest filing proposes an equal weight between Bitcoin and Ether
- Volatility Shares was the first to lodge an Ether-based ETF application
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has been flooded with applications for Ether futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Companies have submitted 11 Ether-based applications in less than a week, Cointelegraph reported.
ProShares was the latest to file one, which it did on August 3. It proposes an equal weight between Bitcoin and Ether. According to the application, the proposed fund will track “the performance of holding long positions in the nearest maturing monthly bitcoin and ether futures contracts.”
This is ProShares’ fourth filing for an Ether-based ETF in the last few days. They also include an Ether strategy ETF, a short Ether strategy ETF, and a dual Bitcoin and Ether futures strategy ETF.
Volatility Shares broke new ground
Volatility Shares was the first to lodge an Ether-based ETF application. This was the Volatility Shares Ether Strategy ETF, applied for on July 28. Van Eck, Bitwise Asset Management, Grayscale Investments, and Roundhill Financial followed suit on August 1.
Bitcoin ETFs have been around for almost two years. SEC has never approved an Ether ETF. If it approves the applications, they will launch two and a half months within the respective filing dates. Volatility’s ETF will launch on October 12, making it the first to do so. There is no Bitcoin ETF in the US either.
Difference between spot and futures ETFs
Futures ETFs track futures contracts prices, while the issuer buys the underlying asset with spot ETF products. Most people see spot ETFs as safer and more valid due to this.
Ether application frenzy follows Bitcoin
The frenzy of Ether-focused filings comes in the wake of a flurry of applications from BlackRock and other leading global asset management companies that want to found spot Bitcoin ETFs. If the SEC approves one, it will be the first in the country.
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