Key Points
- BlackRock has submitted an updated Ethereum ETF application.
- The company stated that it will not participate in ETH staking.
BlackRock has filed an updated 19b-4 form for its Ethereum ETF, ahead of the SEC’s decision set to take place this week.
The latest filings show that BlackRock has submitted an updated Ethereum ETF document, stating that it will not participate in ETH staking.
According to the official notes, the Purpose of the application states that the Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) which governs the listing and trading of Commodity-based Trust Shares on the Exchange.
iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and indirect subsidiary of BlackRock, is the sponsor of the Trust. The Shares will be registered with the SEC by means of the Trust’s registration statement on Form S-1 (the “Registration Statement”).
The notes continue and reveal that the Trust issues Shares representing a fractional undivided beneficial interest in its net assets. The assets of the Trust will consist only of Ethereum, held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust, except under limited circumstances when transferred via the Trust’s prime broker temporarily and cash.
The application highlights that neither the Trust nor the Sponsor, nor the ETH custodian, nor any other person associated with the Trust will directly or indirectly engage in an action where any portion of the Trust’s ETH becomes subject to the Ethereum proof-of-stake validation or is used to earn additional ETH or generate income or other earnings.
Delayed Ethereum ETF applications
Back in March, Nasdaq revealed that the SEC delayed the decision on BlackRock’s application for an ETH ETF. The first time that the SEC delayed the decision was in January after approving Bitcoin ETFs.
According to Nasdaq, “the regulator wants to know whether the arguments that were made in favor of the recently approved spot Bitcoin ETFs (the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs was approved on Jan 10, 2024) support Ether ETFs as well.”
They also wrote that the SEC wanted feedback on whether spot Ethereum ETFs are prone to manipulation. Nasdaq also said that the SEC wanted to know whether spot and futures Ethereum exchange-traded products are similar.
5 more Ethereum ETF issuers submitted amended applications
Earlier today, we revealed that Bloomberg’s James Seyffart posted via his X account that there are at least five of the potential Ethereum ETF issuers who have already submitted their amended applications via CBOE.
The firms he mentioned are Fidelity, VanEck, Invesco/Galaxy, Ark/21Shares, and Franklin Templeton.
UPDATE: It’s happening. We have at least 5 of the potential #Ethereum ETF issuers that have submitted their Amended 19b-4’s in the last ~25 min.
Fidelity, VanEck, Invesco/Galaxy, Ark/21Shares, & Franklin all submitted via CBOE. pic.twitter.com/pHGt8iRWi8— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) May 21, 2024
The US SEC’s final decisions on applications by VanEck and Ark Invest are due tomorrow, May 23, and Friday, May 24 respectively.
75% chances for an Ethereum ETF approval
Bloomberg’s analysts Seyffart and Eric Balchunas said on May 20 that they were raising the odds for an Ethereum ETF approval from the SEC from 25% to 75%, citing political pressure. Today, Seyffart said that they maintain their position.
The SEC’s decision is currently surrounded by optimism.
Standard Chartered Bank Head of FX Research and Digital Assets Research Geoff Kendrick said that after the potential nod from the SEC, Ethereum ETFs could drive inflows between 2.39 million and 9.15 million ETH in the first 12 months post-approval.
At current prices, this would be somewhere between $15 billion and $45 billion.
