BlackRock’s Fink Says an Ether ETF Is Possible Even if ETH Is a Security

BlackRock
CEO
Larry
Fink
said
an
ether
ETF
would
still
be
possible
even
if
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
designates
the
cryptocurrency
as
a
security,
which
would
increase
the
regulatory
scrutiny
around
the
second-largest
digital
asset.

Asked
Wednesday
on
Fox
Business
whether
BlackRock
–
which
has
made
waves
in
crypto
through
its
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
introduced
earlier
this
year
–
could
still
list
an
ETF
that
holds
Ethereum’s
ether
if
the
crypto
is
a
security,
he
replied,
“I
think
so.”

The
SEC
is
reportedly
taking
a
look
at
the
question
of
whether

ether
is
a
security.
Fortune

reported
earlier
this
month
that
the
regulator
is
seeking
to
classify
ether
as
one
and
has
sent
subpoenas
to
several
companies
as
part
of
that
inquiry.

This
caused
concern
over
whether
this
would
mean
an
ether
ETF
would
even
be
possible
in
the
U.S.

Read
more:



Ether
Tumbles
6%
as
ETH
ETF
Hopes
Dim
Amid
Regulatory
Probe
Reports

But
Fink’s
confidence
is
a
striking
note
of
optimism.

Eight
potential
issuers,
including
BlackRock,
have
submitted
filings
with
the
SEC
to
bring
a
spot
ether
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
to
the
market.
The
final
decision
by
the
regulator
is
due
in
May,
with
industry
experts
predicting
that
applications
won’t
get
approved,
regardless
of
what
the
SEC
finds
the
nature
of
ether
to
be.

BlackRock
is
also
one
of
the

now-11
issuers
of
spot
bitcoin
ETFs.
The
asset
management
giant’s
fund,
the
iShares
Bitcoin
Fund
(IBIT),
is
by
far
the
most
successful
spot
bitcoin
fund
after
collecting
more
than
$15
billion
in
assets
after
only
2
1/2
months.
IBIT
is
the
“fastest
growing
ETF
in
the
history
of
ETFs,”
Fink
said
on
Fox
Business.

“Look,
I’m
very
bullish
on
the
long-term
viability
of
bitcoin,”
he
said.
“We’re
creating
now
a
market
that
has
more
liquidity,
more
transparency,
and
I’m
pleasantly
surprised,
and
I
would
never
have
predicted
that
before.”

When
asked
if
an
ether
fund
was
next,
Fink
said
“we’ll
see.”