Global investment firm VanEck is preparing to roll out an Ethereum () futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) amid an optimistic outlook for the first-ever US futures ETF based on the second-largest crypto asset by market cap.
statement published on Thursday, the firm says the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) will not directly invest in Ethereum or other crypto assets, but in standardized, cash-settled ETH futures contracts traded on registered commodity exchanges.
“VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) [is] an actively managed ETF designed to seek capital appreciation by investing in Ether (ETH) futures contracts.”
The fund, which will be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), currently intends to invest only in ETH futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. VanEck’s statement did not specify a timeline for launch.
The announcement comes amid reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is ready to give its approval to the first ETH futures exchange-traded fund two years after giving the nod to a futures ETF based on Bitcoin (
Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas estimated in August that there was a 75% chance that an ETH futures ETF would get approved this year amid a flood of applications to the SEC.
“The SEC appears to be changing its posture toward crypto, based on reports of its back-channel messaging to ETF issuers. Also, we believe the SEC would have a hard time in court defending the denial of Ethereum futures ETFs after approving standard and leveraged Bitcoin futures ETFs.”
