Amid the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delaying a decision on Ark Investment Management’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, the firm has proposed an investment vehicle with exposure to Ether (ETH).
In a Sept. 6 filing, Ark Invest and 21Shares requested the SEC approve the listing of shares of a spot ETH ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The investment vehicle, called the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF, will have crypto exchange Coinbase act as a custodian and measure the performance of Ether based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate.
BOOM: ARK just filed for a Spot Ether ETF, the first one.. prob more coming imminent pic.twitter.com/PjK5aSNPlS
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) September 6, 2023
The proposal from Ark Invest and 21Shares is one of many spot crypto ETFs that will be reviewed by the SEC. Following asset manager Grayscale winning an appeal to have the SEC reconsider allowing the listing of its Bitcoin Trust converted into a BTC ETF, many firms seem to have been hopeful of regulatory approval.
On Aug. 31, two days following the decision on Grayscale’s ETF, the SEC announced it would delay deciding whether to approve or deny spot Bitcoin ETF applications from 7 firms including BlackRock — the largest in the world. The spot Bitcoin ETF from Ark Invest and 21Shares was not included in the delay as its next deadline on approval, denial, or delays isn’t until Nov. 11.
Related: Crypto market ‘dramatically underestimates’ bullishness of spot Bitcoin ETFs
The current iteration of Ark Invest’s and 21Shares’ Bitcoin investment vehicle is the firms’ third attempt to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF since 2021. In August, the companies also proposed listings of two ETH futures ETFs — ETFs linked to crypto futures have had more success with the SEC following several approvals in 2021.
The price of ETH briefly surged following news of the ETF filing. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the ETH price rose roughly 3% from $1,623 to $1,669 before returning to between $1,620 and $1,640.