BlackRock and Nasdaq made a transfer right now to add options to the asset supervisor’s spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) iShares Ethereum Belief (ETHA), according to a filing with the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC).
In accordance to the filing:
“In particular, the Exchange believes that the proposal to list and trade options on the Trust will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, in general, protect investors because offering options on the Trust will provide investors with a greater opportunity to realize the benefits of utilizing options on an ETF based on spot ether, including cost efficiencies and increased hedging strategies.”
Moreover, Nasdaq talked about that it already listed options on different commodity ETFs structured as trusts, mentioning BlackRock merchandise as examples, such because the iShares COMEX Gold Belief and the iShares Silver Belief.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shared on X (previously Twitter) that the SEC has 21 days to present feedback on the matter. Nonetheless, he stated the ultimate deadline for a regulator resolution is “likely to be around” April 9, 2025.
Notably, the SEC shouldn’t be the one regulator that wants to approve this joint transfer by Nasdaq and BlackRock. As Seyffart highlighted, the Workplace of the Comptroller of the Forex (OCC) and the Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) additionally want to approve the requirement.
ETHA’s rising dominance
BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF has been on a crescent motion in inflows. Because the launch of the spot Ethereum ETFs within the US on July 23, ETHA dominance has tripled from 3% to 9%. In accordance to DefiLlama, ETHA’s belongings beneath administration (AUM) sit at over $521 million.
Nonetheless, Grayscale’s belief transformed into ETF, ETHE, nonetheless holds a big lead over the opposite funds. ETHE’s AUM is $4.77 billion, practically 9 instances the scale of ETHA.
Nonetheless, the identical motion occurred after the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETFs within the US, ending up with BlackRock’s IBIT progressively rising and taking the lead from Grayscale’s GBTC.
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Gino Matos
Gino Matos is a regulation college graduate and a seasoned journalist with six years of expertise within the crypto trade. His experience primarily focuses on the Brazilian blockchain ecosystem and developments in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Assad Jafri
AJ, a passionate journalist since Yemen’s 2011 Arab Spring, has honed his abilities worldwide for over a decade. Specializing in monetary journalism, he now focuses on crypto reporting.
