Investment management firm ProShares Advisors has made a significant move in the ETF market by introducing six new futures products for Ether, marking the cryptocurrency’s debut in this space. Instead of direct investment in the cryptocurrency, the newly launched ETFs offer investors exposure to Ether through futures contracts.
ProShares Advisors is behind three of the new ETFs: Ether Strategy ETF (EETH), Bitcoin & Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF (BETE), and Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF (BETH). These ETFs track the performance of Ether futures contracts, providing regulated exposure to the cryptocurrency market.
“What we know is the futures ETFs are here today and what’s important about that is that the regulated futures market resolves a lot of the challenges as the spot market is maturing,” said Simeon Hyman, ProShares’ global investment strategist, in an interview with CNBC’s “ETF Edge”.
The introduction of these ETFs comes as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reviewing the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. The SEC’s argument to prevent the conversion of a Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF was recently ruled against by a judge, leading to the possibility of future spot bitcoin ETFs.
ProShares currently manages the Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the largest bitcoin futures ETF available, which has shown impressive growth of over 37% year to date. This positions them as the largest crypto ETF provider.
In addition to ProShares’ offerings, London-based Jacobi Asset Management released Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF last month, after facing a one-year delay due to market conditions. This development has sparked a surge in applications for similar products in the US, with companies like Blackrock, Invesco, and Wisdom Tree filing paperwork or reapplying for their own spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has also filed a bid with the SEC on behalf of Fidelity for a spot Bitcoin ETF, indicating the growing interest in this market.
