What one analyst called the "Ether Futures ETF Derby" kicked off on Oct. 2 with the launch of multiple offerings.
"This is totally unprecedented to have so many ETFs doing (the) same thing launching (the) same day," the analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, said in a Sept. 29 post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, regarding the launches.
In addition, Grayscale Investments announced on Oct. 2 that NYSE Arca has filed Form 19b-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to convert the Grayscale Ethereum Trust to a spot Ethereum ETF.
"The filing comes on the heels of the SEC's clearance of the first Ethereum futures ETFs," Grayscale said in an Oct. 2 news release.
Bitwise Asset Management and ProShares each issued news releases on Sept. 29 regarding launches. Ether, the native currency of the Ethereum platform, ranks as the second-largest cryptocurrency, according to ProShares' release.
Bitwise, the largest crypto index fund manager in the U.S., announced that two Ethereum-themed ETFs were slated to begin trading on October 2, the Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF and the Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF.
ProShares said it would be launching the ProShares Ether Strategy ETF on Oct. 2. At the same time, ProShares would also be launching two other ETFs, the ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF and the ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF, the release said.
"We have seen substantial demand from investors for access to the performance of cryptocurrencies through ETFs with the success of our bitcoin-linked ETF, BITO, which was launched almost two years ago and has become the largest crypto-linked ETF in the world," said ProShares' CEO Michael Sapir, in the release, referring to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF by its ticker symbol.
VanEck announced that it was launching the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF on Oct. 2, according to a news release issued the same day. VanEck's release said its fund is "the only ETF providing focused exposure to ETH futures that is structured as a C-Corp., potentially offering a more efficient tax experience for long-term investors."
The new ETFs, however, represent "a very niche category," Balchunas said in an Oct. 2 interview, adding that the number of investors clamoring for them is likely to be a "short list." Still, it will be interesting to see "who can sort of break out and become the one with the most volume, that's the Holy Grail for an issuer," the analyst said.
"I think this is an interesting foreshadow" for what a spot bitcoin ETF race will look like, he said.
