Valkyrie to offer partial Ethereum futures ETF Friday, VanEck prepares to follow suit

Valkyrie Investments is set to become the first provider of a U.S.-based ETF that includes Ethereum futures, according to reports from FOX Business on Sept. 28.

A separate tweet from Eleanor Terret, the author of that piece, suggests that the fund will make the relevant change on Sept. 29. Valkyrie itself has not confirmed that date.

Unlike other pending Ethereum futures futures ETFs, Valkyrie’s fund will combine Bitcoin and Ethereum futures. Bloomberg contributor James Seyffert noted that the fund will start holding less than 10% Ethereum futures on Sept. 29. The fund will then hold 50% Ethereum futures and 50% Bitcoin futures in the first week of October.

This change represents a conversion rather than a new launch. The relevant fund, listed as BTF, has been trading since late 2021. It was one of the first Bitcoin futures ETFs to gain approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the time.

VanEck also planning ETH futures ETF

Elsewhere, competing asset management firm VanEck said in an announcement on Sept. 28 that it will soon launch its own Ethereum futures ETF.

VanEck described its upcoming fund as an actively managed ETF that invests in Ethereum futures contracts. Specifically, the fund invests in standardized and cash-settled ETF futures contracts on commodity exchanges that are registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). In VanEck’s case, it plans to invest in Ethereum futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

VanEck’s fund will be listed on the CBOE exchange under the label EFUT. VanEck’s head of active trading, Greg Krenzer, will actively manage the fund.

Like Valkyrie, VanEck currently offers a Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBFT) as well. However, it appears that this fund will remain separate from VanEck’s Ethereum futures ETF.

Other Ethereum-related funds are also pending

Several other Ethereum futures funds are also awaiting approval. The list of applicants includes but is not limited to Bitwise, ProShares, and Grayscale, and it is likely that many of these proposed funds will go live during the first week of October.

Those Ethereum futures ETFs are distinct from spot Ethereum ETFs that have been proposed by many of the same companies. Funds in the latter category involve direct investments in Ethereum, and as such, they are less certain to gain regulatory approval.

The SEC postponed its decision on two spot Ethereum ETF proposals from VanEck and Ark 21Shares on Sept. 27. This will delay the regulator’s decisions until December.

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