ARK Invest opts out of Ethereum spot ETF, explores alternative paths: Report

Spot
Ethereum
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
have
seen
several
developments
this
week
following
listing
approval
on
May
23.
The
most
remarkable
is
that
Cathie
Wood’s
ARK
Invest
suspended
its
spot
Ethereum
ETF
plans.
An
ARK
spokesperson
stated
in
an
email
that
it
would
seek
better
investor
opportunities.

“At
this
time,
ARK
will
not
be
moving
forward
with
an
Ethereum
ETF,”
the
spokesperson

stated.
“We
will
continue
evaluating
efficient
ways
to
provide
our
investors
with
exposure
to
this
innovative
technology
in
a
way
that
unlocks
its
full
benefits.”

The
comments
follow
21Shares’s
updated
S-1
form
for
its
Ethereum
product,
which
no
longer
names
ARK
Invest
as
the
ETF’s
partner.
The
proposed
ETF
has
also
been
changed
from
Ark
“21Shares
Ethereum
ETF”
to
“21Shares
Core
Ethereum
ETF.”

ARK
Invest
cooperated
with
21Shares
in
pursuing
a
regulatory
nod
to
launch
a
spot
Bitcoin
fund.
The
two
asset
management
firms
expanded
their
partnership,
applying
to

offer
spot
Ethereum
ETF
in
September
last
year.
At
the
time,
the
SEC’s
decision
on
spot
Bitcoin
ETFs
was
still
on
hold.

After
getting
the
SEC’s
approval
in
January,
their
spot
Bitcoin
ETF,
ARK
21Shares
Bitcoin
ETF
(ARKB),
debuted
trading
on
the
CBOE
on
January
11.
As
of
May
31,
ARKB
holds
around

$3.2
billion
in
Bitcoin
(BTC).

While
Ark
shelves
its
Ethereum
ETF
plans
for
now,
the
company
affirms
its
continued
commitment
to
its
Bitcoin
ETF.

“21Shares
and
ARK
remain
committed
partners
on
the
ARK
21Shares
Bitcoin
ETF,
which
launched
in
January,
as
well
as
on
our
existing
lineup
of
futures
products,”
21Shares
confirmed
in
a
statement.

Spot
Ethereum
ETF
filings:
Weekly
roundup

This
week’s
highlight
is
the
updated
S-1
forms
from
ETF
issuers.
At
press
time,
all
eight
issuers
had
submitted
their
required
filings
to
the
SEC.

The
S-1
amendment
from
VanEck
was
filed
on
the

day
of
approval.

BlackRock
followed
suit
with
an
updated
filing
earlier
this
week.
Other
issuers
also
sent
their
amended
filings
by
Friday,
the
due
date

set
by
the
SEC.

Hashdex’s
proposed
Ethereum
ETF
was

withdrawn
on
May
24,
one
day
after
the
SEC
greenlit
the
other
eight
funds,
except
for
Hashdex’s.
Hashdex
was
also
the
only
issuer
without
an
amended
19b-4
filing
ahead
of
the
Ethereum
ETF
decision.

Fidelity
is
the
only
issuer
that
discloses
its
management
fee
in
its
updated
filing.
Its

planned
fee
is
0.19%.

The
next
step
involves
the
SEC
reviewing
and
providing
feedback
on
the
filings.
According
to
a
source
with
knowledge
of
the
situation,
this
process
could
entail
at
least
two
additional
rounds
of
revisions
to
the
S-1
documents.