Bitwise Files for Spot Ethereum ETF, Following Fidelity's Proposal

According to Blockworks, Bitwise has filed for a spot Ethereum ETF on Thursday. The company, which launched a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, also has an Ethereum futures ETF called the Bitwise Ethereum Strategy ETF (AETH). The potential issuer submitted its 19b-4 and S-1 documents side-by-side on Thursday, following Fidelity, which filed its S-1 for its proposed fund earlier this week. Unlike some of its potential competitors, the Bitwise S-1 lacks any language around staking. Ark 21Shares, Fidelity, and a few others included such language in earlier filings. Bitwise plans to list the ETF on the NYSE, similarly to its Bitcoin ETF. The S-1 did not include a ticker or fee. However, the 19b-4 included a correlation analysis designed to "replicate the specific methodology used by the [Securities and Exchange Commission]." Bitwise stated in a post on X, "We believe the results show strong correlation between the ETH spot market and CME ETH futures market, at a level substantially similar to the findings of the SEC’s analysis in the spot Bitcoin ETF approval order." Hope for a May approval for the proposed Ether ETFs has dwindled in the last month, as Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart noted that the SEC has yet to engage with potential issuers. Within a few months of the spot Bitcoin ETF approval in January, the SEC was engaged with issuers to hash out key details. Grayscale's Craig Salm said that he doesn't think the "perceived lack of engagement from regulators should be indicative of one outcome or another." "Spot Ethereum ETFs will gather more assets if they launch in December vs. if they launch in May. [Traditional finance] needs more time to digest the Bitcoin ETFs," said Matt Hougan, Bitwise's chief investment officer, at the Digital Assets Summit earlier this month. The SEC has delayed multiple decisions on the spot ETH ETFs, as expected, until late May.