Bitwise Files For a Spot Ethereum ETF

Bitwise filed for a spot ethereum ETF on Thursday. 

The company, which launched a spot bitcoin ETF back in January, also has an ethereum futures ETF, known as the Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF (AETH). 

The potential issuer dropped its 19b-4 and S-1 documents side-by-side Thursday, following Fidelity, which filed its S-1 for its proposed fund earlier this week.

Unlike some of its potential competitors, the Bitwise S-1 lacks any language around staking. Ark 21Shares, Fidelity and a few others included such language in earlier filings. 

Bitwise would list the ETF on the NYSE, similarly to its bitcoin ETF. The S-1 didn’t include a ticker or fee. 

The 19b-4 did, however, include a correlation analysis designed to “replicate the specific methodology used by the [Securities and Exchange Commission].”

“We believe the results show strong correlation between the ETH spot market and CME ETH futures market, at a level substantially similar to the findings of the SEC’s analysis in the spot bitcoin ETF approval order,” Bitwise wrote in a post on X.

Hope around a May approval for the proposed ether ETFs has dwindled in the last month, as Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart noted that the SEC has yet to engage with potential issuers. Within a few months of the spot bitcoin ETF approval — which happened in January — the SEC was engaged with issuers to hash out key details.

Grayscale’s Craig Salm said that he doesn’t think the “perceived lack of engagement from regulators should be indicative of one outcome or another.”

“Spot Ethereum ETFs will gather more assets if they launch in December vs. if they launch in May. [Traditional finance] needs more time to digest the bitcoin ETFs,” Matt Hougan, Bitwise’s chief investment officer, said at the Digital Assets Summit earlier this month. 

The SEC has delayed multiple decisions on the spot ETH ETFs, as expected, until late May.