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Asset management firm VanEck announced plans to close and liquidate its ethereum futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) EFUT, according to a Sept. 6 statement. statement.
VanEck cited performance, liquidity, assets under management (AUM), and investor interest as factors driving its decision. The firm also pointed to the recent approval of its ethereum spot ETP, ETHV, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a key reason for closing EFUT.
EFUT shareholders have until the close of business on September 16, 2024 to sell their shares on the stock exchange where the fund is listed. After that, the ETF will be delisted and trading will be suspended.
Meanwhile, shareholders still holding EFUT shares on the expected settlement date of September 23, 2024, will receive a cash distribution based on the net asset value (NAV) of their holdings.
EFUT, which launched on October 2, 2023, is listed on the CBOE. As of September 5, the fund had $21.24 million in net assets, with a net asset value of $20.23.
Unfair comparison
VanEck’s decision to close its ethereum futures ETF comes as JPMorgan analysts noted that the AUM of ethereum spot ETFs as a percentage of the token’s market cap are comparable to bitcoin ETFs at a similar post-launch stage.
Analysts highlighted that the combined assets under management of ethereum ETFs, including Grayscale’s ETHE, accounted for approximately 2.3% of ethereum’s total market cap at the end of its first 29 days of trading. In comparison, the total assets under management of bitcoin ETFs, including Grayscale’s GBTC, accounted for 3.0% of bitcoin’s market cap over the same period.
When scaling AUM against underlying market cap, analysts claimed that the performance gap between ethereum and bitcoin ETFs is less significant than it appears.
This analysis suggests that the launch of ethereum spot ETFs has been largely in line with that of bitcoin ETFs. However, some market analysts argue otherwise, citing negative outflows of over $500 million from US-traded ethereum spot ETFs since launch, as opposed to the record inflows seen in early bitcoin ETF trading.
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(tags to translate)ETF