Global investment firm VanEck is preparing to roll out an Ethereum (ETH) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) amid optimistic prospects for the first-ever US futures ETF based on the second-largest crypto asset by market cap.
In a statement released Thursday, the company said the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) will not invest directly in Ethereum or other crypto assets, but in standardized, cash-settled ETH futures contracts traded on registered commodity exchanges.
“VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) [is] an actively managed ETF designed to seek capital growth by investing in Ether (ETH) futures contracts.”
The fund, which will be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), currently plans to invest only in ETH futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. VanEck’s statement did not specify a timeline for the launch.
The announcement comes amid reports that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is ready to approve the first exchange-traded ETH futures fund, two years after it gave the nod to a futures ETF based on Bitcoin (BTC).
Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas estimated in August that there was a 75% chance an ETH futures ETF would be approved this year, amid a flood of filings with the SEC.
“The SEC appears to be changing its stance on crypto, based on reports of its backchannel messaging to ETF issuers. We also believe that the SEC would have a difficult time in court defending the denial of Ethereum futures ETFs after approving standard and leveraged Bitcoin futures ETFs.”
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