BlackRock
wants
to
create
an
ETF
that
holds
Ethereum’s
ether
(ETH),
a
plan
that
deepens
the
world’s
largest
asset
manager’s
commitment
to
cryptocurrencies.
Following
the
news,
ETH’s
price
surged
to
its
highest
level
of
the
day
near
$2,100,
up
about
3%
versus
just
before
the
filing
came
out.
It
later
gave
back
about
half
that
gain,
though
it
remains
up
about
9%
versus
24
hours
earlier.
The
company’s
plan
was
revealed
in
a
filing
by
Nasdaq,
the
U.S.
exchange
where
BlackRock
will
seek
to
list
the
product
–
which
will
need
regulatory
approval.
Earlier
Thursday,
it
emerged
that
the
corporate
entity
“iShares
Ethereum
Trust”
had
been
registered
in
the
state
of
Delaware;
iShares
is
the
name
of
BlackRock’s
ETF
division.
BlackRock
has
already
made
waves
in
crypto
by
seeking
to
list
a
bitcoin
ETF,
the
sort
of
easy-to-trade
product
that
could
dramatically
broaden
access
to
crypto
to
average
investors.
CEO
Larry
Fink
has
become
a
vocal
supporter
of
crypto,
reversing
his
previous
skepticism.
According
to
the
filing,
U.S.-based
crypto
exchange
Coinbase
would
be
the
custodian
for
the
ether
held
by
the
product,
while
an
unnamed
third
party
would
hold
its
cash.
BlackRock
also
has
a
market-surveillance
pact
with
Coinbase;
such
surveillance-sharing
agreements
appear
to
be
key
to
getting
such
ETFs
approved
by
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission.
The
filing
appeared
to
try
and
preempt
possible
SEC
objections
to
the
surveillance-sharing
aspect,
saying
Blackrock
believes
the
prices
for
CME
Group’s
ether
futures
(and
there
are
already
ETFs
that
hold
those)
closely
match
spot
ETH
prices.
“Either
CME
surveillance
can
detect
spot-market
fraud
that
affects
both
futures
ETFs
and
spot
exchange-traded
products,
or
that
surveillance
cannot
do
so
for
either
type
of
product,”
the
filing
said.
“Having
approved
ETH
futures
ETFs
in
part
on
the
basis
of
such
surveillance,
the
Commission
has
clearly
determined
that
CME
surveillance
can
detect
spot-market
fraud
that
would
affect
spot
ETPs,
and
the
Sponsor
thus
believes
that
it
must
also
approve
spot
ETH
ETPs
on
that
basis.”
UPDATE
(Nov.
9,
2023,
22:00
UTC):
Adds
ETH’s
rally.