A number of asset managers have submitted revised proposals for an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 21. VanEck, BlackRock, Grayscale, and Invesco Galaxy Digital released updated S-1 Registration Statements following the close of the markets on Friday. Fidelity also filed a new S-1 form with the regulator earlier in the day. VanEck’s filing disclosed a management fee of 0.20% for its Ethereum fund, which is in line with competitors such as Franklin Templeton, which charges 0.19% in management fees. BlackRock has not yet announced the management fee for its iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas believes that VanEck’s fee puts pressure on BlackRock to charge at least under 30 basis points. Previous amendments have been submitted to the Commission in recent weeks. The approval of the S-1 is one of the final steps before the funds are launched on Wall Street exchanges. Balchunas predicts that the funds will debut in the first week of July, just before the U.S. Independence Day holiday.
The SEC approved a rule change in May that allowed major asset managers to list and trade eight spot Ether ETFs, including VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise. Fidelity’s updated filing revealed that FMR Capital, one of its affiliates, has provided a seeding of $4.7 million at $38 per share. Bitwise also updated its ETF proposal with the SEC on June 19, mentioning a potential $100 million investment from Pantera Capital at the launch of the ETF. In addition, Hashdex is seeking regulatory approval for a new ETF that combines spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether. A few weeks ago, Hashdex abandoned its plans to launch an ETF solely dedicated to Ether.