TLDR
- ARK Invest has ended its partnership with 21Shares on its proposed spot Ethereum ETF.
- The fund was renamed from Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF to 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF.
- ARK Invest and 21Shares will continue their collaboration on other projects such as the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
- The SEC recently approved Form 19b-4 for eight Ethereum ETFs, but issuers still require the S-1 statements to be valid before they can begin trading.
- Several other issuers, including Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, VanEck and Invesco Ltd., have filed amended S-1 statements for the proposed Ether ETF.
ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, has withdrawn from the race to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would invest directly in Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency.
An amended prospectus document known as Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday revealed that ARK’s name was removed from an application for a spot Ether ETF filed in partnership with 21Shares.
Accordingly, the fund name was changed from Ark 21Shares Ethereum ETF to 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF.
Despite the Ethereum ETF’s exit, ARK Invest remains committed to its Bitcoin ETF, the $3.2 billion ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ticker ARKB), which currently ranks fourth in terms of assets among Bitcoin ETFs.
ARK Statement on Not Doing Eth Spot pic.twitter.com/Z48SMyXvat
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 31, 2024
The move comes after ARK joined forces with 21Shares, one of the successful issuers that launched a spot Bitcoin ETF earlier this year.
The SEC’s unexpected approval of the 19b-4 filing filed by Cboe Global Markets Inc. to list its spot Ether ETF on exchanges operated by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange has raised market expectations.
However, the issuer is still awaiting regulatory approval of the S-1 statement before trading can begin.
In response to the latest developments, 21Shares expressed enthusiasm for the SEC’s approval and reaffirmed its commitment to increasing accessibility to cryptocurrencies as an asset class for U.S. investors.
. They also highlighted the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, launched in January, and their ongoing partnership with ARK on their existing futures product lineup.
Several other issuers, including Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Investments, VanEck and Invesco Ltd., have filed amended S-1 statements announcing their intention to launch an Ether ETF.
However, the SEC’s decision on this document has not yet been determined.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes the approval of a spot Ethereum ETF was likely influenced by political decisions rather than purely financial considerations.
In contrast, cryptocurrency investor and trader Brian Kelly suggested that Solana could become the next cryptocurrency to have a spot ETF in the U.S., following Bitcoin and Ethereum.