Asset manager Valkyrie files for Ethereum-focused ETF with US SEC

August 20, 2023

By Manya Saini

(Reuters) – Asset manager Valkyrie has filed for an Ethereum Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) that will invest in ether futures and other collateral assets, paperwork filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed on Wednesday.

After a brutal 2022, the cryptocurrency market is on a rebound as big asset managers, including BlackRock, explore the viability of the alternative asset by planning to launch a string of derivative-based products such as ETFs.

ETFs that track the price of bitcoin futures contracts have been allowed by regulators since October 2021. The greenlighting of the ETF by the SEC was seen as a watershed moment for cryptocurrencies at the time.

Asset manager Valkyrie files for Ethereum-focused ETF with US SEC — The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo / Asset manager Valkyrie

The regulator, however, has rejected dozens of applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, citing inadequate level of trading surveillance that could leave the underlying spot market subject to fraud and manipulation.