VanEck Files for an Ethereum Exchange-Traded Fund

Asset manager VanEck is seeking US regulatory approval to launch an Ethereum exchange-traded fund, with the move taking place as the company waits for word on whether it will be able to introduce trading of the first bitcoin ETF in the US.

The VanEck Ethereum Trust would list shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange, according to an S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.

The firm said the trust, in aiming to reach its investment objective, will hold ether, the currency native to the Ethereum blockchain network, and value its shares daily based on the reported MVIS CryptoCompare Ethereum Benchmark Rate. Ether is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, behind bitcoin.

VanEck and the Cboe are waiting for the SEC to render a decision on whether it can list a bitcoin ETF, which the asset manager applied for in March. The regulator last week delayed a decision until at least July 17, leaving investors waiting on the US to greenlight the country's first bitcoin ETF.

Wall Street institutions are increasingly embracing or signaling openness to including cryptocurrency into their operations. This week, S&P Dow Jones index announced the launch of three indices tracking the performance of the bitcoin and ethereum – the S&P Bitcoin Index, S&P Ethereum Index, and the S&P Cryptocurrency MegaCap Index.