Grayscale Withdraws Application for Ethereum Futures ETF

Grayscale Investments has withdrawn its application to create a futures-based Ethereum ETF. According to CEO Michael Sonnenshein, the company will focus its efforts on converting the ETHE into a spot exchange-traded fund.

Grayscale Investments will focus on converting its Ethereum trust — the world’s largest — to spot exchange-traded products, CEO Michael Sonnenshein said on Wednesday. Sonnenshein said the asset manager was withdrawing the future application because a number of products are…

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The top executive expressed confidence that the Commission will convert the Ethereum trust into an ETF.

“This is really the foundation of our DNA. ETHE is a company reporting to the SEC. We file 10-K and 10-Q reports [for the regulator],” he stated.

Sonnenshein explained the withdrawal of the futures ETF registration proposal by citing the presence of similar products in the market.

“Sometimes we apply for a particular product. This does not necessarily mean it will come to market,” noted the Grayscale CEO.

The company is competing for approval of a spot Ethereum ETF with BlackRock, VanEck, ARK Invest, Fidelity, Invesco, and Hashdex.

Grayscale has also filed an application to create a mini-trust — a small fund formed from the assets of a larger structure.

The firm’s chief legal officer, Craig Salm, noted that such a product is intended to complement the rest of the Ethereum-based lineup and support a broad range of investors.

On May 7, the agency extended the review period for the ETH-ETF application from Invesco and Galaxy.

On April 23, the SEC postponed its decision on Franklin Templeton’s spot Ethereum ETF, setting a deadline of June 11. Prior to this, the regulator extended the review period for a similar proposal from BlackRock. 

In May, the deadline will arrive for proposals from VanEck and Grayscale.

Back in April, experts from Standard Chartered joined the camp of skeptics doubting the approval of spot ETH-ETFs by this deadline. Analysts cited the lack of constructive dialogue between the Commission and issuers.