"Ark Invest is quick to act, the others don't want to be left behind."
Teaming up with 21Shares, Ark Invest is the first firm to file a spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF in the United States (US) as part of its efforts to expand its cryptocurrency portfolio.
If approved, the spot ETH ETF will trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange and unlike other ETH futures ETFs filed in July and August 2023, Ark Invest and 21Shares plan to hold the digital asset directly.
In addition to the new move, Cathie Wood-founded Ark Invest has signed an agreement with Swiss ETP 21Shares to launch a spot BTC ETF in 2021 and reapplied in April this year after being rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
After sharing plans for two funds involving ETH futures contracts, Ark Invest and 21Shares have been listed as minor advisers on three proposed crypto funds involving BTC futures contracts.
By observation, the development has come as the SEC currently appears to be weakening after losing a court case to Grayscale Investments last month.
The timing seems particularly opportune as other jurisdictions such as Canada have approved similar crypto products and the trend shows that regulators outside the United States (US) are already taking an interest in digital assets.
It is also worth noting that regulators in Canada have become more crypto-friendly as it became the first country to approve spot ETH ETFs in April 2021 after several months of allowing spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs.
