BlackRock and Nasdaq today took steps to add options to the asset manager’s ethereum (eth) exchange-traded fund (ETF) iShares ethereum Trust (ETHA). according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to the file:
“In particular, the Exchange believes that the proposal to list and trade options on the Trust “It will remove impediments and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and will generally protect investors because offering options on the Trust will provide them with a greater opportunity to realize the benefits of using options on a spot ether-based ETF, including cost efficiencies and greater hedging strategies.”
In addition, Nasdaq said it already includes options on other commodity ETFs structured as trusts, citing BlackRock products such as the iShares COMEX Gold Trust and the iShares Silver Trust as examples.
James Seyffart, Bloomberg ETF Analyst x.com/JSeyff/status/1820916415227908108″>shared On x (formerly twitter) he said the SEC has 21 days to provide comments on the matter. However, he said the final deadline for a decision from the regulator “will likely be around” April 9, 2025.
It should be noted that the SEC is not the only regulator that must approve this joint move by Nasdaq and BlackRock. As Seyffart noted, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) must also approve the requirement.
The growing dominance of ETHA
BlackRock’s ethereum ETF has seen increasing movement in terms of capital inflows. Since the launch of the US spot ethereum ETFs on July 23, ETHA’s dominance has tripled from 3% to 9%. According to DefiLlama, ETHA’s assets under management (AUM) amount to over $521 million.
However, Grayscale’s trust-turned-ETF, ETHE, still holds a huge lead over the other funds. ETHE’s assets under management are $4.77 billion, nearly nine times the size of ETHA.
However, the same movement occurred after the launch of bitcoin spot ETFs in the US, ending with BlackRock's IBIT gradually growing and taking the lead from Grayscale's GBTC.
Mentioned in this article
Gino Matos
Gino Matos is a law graduate and seasoned journalist with six years of experience in the cryptocurrency industry. His expertise is mainly focused on the Brazilian blockchain ecosystem and developments in decentralized finance (DeFi).
Assad Jafri
A passionate journalist since the 2011 Arab Spring in Yemen, AJ has honed his skills around the world for over a decade. Specializing in financial journalism, he now focuses on cryptocurrency reporting.
