BlackRock's Nasdaq Filing Paves Way For New Ether ETF

In a move that signals growing institutional interest in cryptocurrency, BlackRock Inc. BLK, the global investment management colossus, has taken a step toward launching an Ether exchange-traded fund.

The firm submitted the required 19b-4 form late Thursday afternoon detailing its plans.

The filing indicates that BlackRock is poised to leverage the Coinbase COIN Custody Trust Company's services to safeguard the proposed ETF's holdings.

The ETF would be benchmarked against the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate - New York Variant.

This development aligns with the broader themes of accessibility and mainstream crypto adoption set to be explored at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets conference on Nov. 14.

Coinciding with this revelation was the discovery that a corporate entity dubbed "iShares Ethereum Trust" had been established in Delaware, hinting at BlackRock's deeper foray into the crypto space.

The iShares name is BlackRock's ETF branch.

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BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who had previously expressed skepticism, now publicly champions crypto, aligning with the firm's efforts to introduce a Bitcoin BTC/USD ETF — products designed to simplify crypto investments for the everyday investor.

The sphere of asset management firms vying for a share of the crypto ETF market is expanding, with names like Grayscale, Ark Invest, ProShares and Valkyrie also in the fray with their own spot Ether ETF filings.

While the approval process can extend over several months, given the SEC's history of deferring decisions on similar Bitcoin fund applications, the commitment of these financial giants reflects a clear trajectory toward integrating cryptocurrencies into traditional investment portfolios.

Industry titans BlackRock, DTCC, OCC, State Street, Société Générale, Hedera, Citi, BMO, Northern Trust, Citibank, Amazon, S&P Global, Google, Invesco, and Moody’s will join our November 13 Fintech Deal Day and November 14 Future of Digital Assets. Secure a spot here to join them!