US spot ether ETFs debut on the market
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The news: US exchange-traded funds tied to the price of ether have enjoyed a strong market debut, with more than a billion dollars worth of shares changing hands in the products.
The numbers: The most actively traded ETFs were Grayscale's Ethereum Trust, with more than USD450 million ($680 million) in turnover, the iShares Ethereum Trust with about USD245 million in trading, and Fidelity Advantage Ether ETF with USD137 million, according to Bitwise Asset Management.
Products from Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Bitwise, 21Shares and Invesco also began trading overnight.
The price of ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, trended lower on Tuesday, pulling down the prices of the new ETFs, according to CoinGecko, a cryptocurrency data firm.
The context: The ether products mark another win for the cryptocurrency industry's campaign to push digital assets into the mainstream, following the launch of nine US spot bitcoin ETFs in January. Market participants see the introduction of the ETFs as significant for the industry's longstanding effort to classify ether as a commodity rather than a security.
While the US Securities and Exchange Commission has not explicitly said ether is a commodity, the new products are defined in filing documents as commodity-based trusts. The bitcoin ETF launches were the culmination of a decade-long tussle with the SEC, which had rejected the products due to market manipulation concerns.
The source: Reuters
