Grayscale Investments, the leading global crypto asset manager, has announced a pivotal development as it partnered with NYSE Arca to submit Form 19b-4 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This significant move is to transform their Grayscale Ethereum Trust into a spot Ethereum ETF.
The official X (previously Twitter) handle of the company tweeted the announcement in a thread:
📣We’re proud to announce that @NYSE Arca has filed Form 19b-4 with the SEC to convert Grayscale Ethereum Trust $ETHE to a spot #Ethereum ETF. https://t.co/IAHDHTdeqp
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) October 2, 2023
🧵(1/4) https://t.co/IAHDHTdeqp
Grayscale CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, emphasized the company’s steadfast commitment to providing investors with transparent and regulated access to cryptocurrencies. He sees this filing as a crucial step toward integrating Ethereum further into the U.S. regulatory framework.
At Grayscale, our unwavering commitment is to offer investors transparent and regulated access to crypto through familiar product structures.
Grayscale’s approach involves meticulously guiding its digital asset products through a carefully planned lifecycle. The conversion of ETHE into an ETF represents the final stage in this process. Since its launch in March 2019, ETHE has achieved significant milestones: obtaining a public quotation in May 2019 and becoming an SEC reporting company voluntarily in October 2020.
Currently, it stands as the largest Ether investment vehicle globally, managing assets nearing $5 billion, equivalent to 2.5% of all Ether in circulation. Now, this submission closely follows the SEC’s approval of the inaugural Ethereum futures ETFs for trading within the US.
Currently, the Ethereum Trust holds a value of $4.9 billion, representing approximately 2.5% of the total circulating Ethereum. Grayscale has also disclosed that the trust has garnered the interest of 250,000 investor accounts.
Grayscale Global Head of ETFs, David LaValle, emphasized the importance of this filing as a pivotal moment for Grayscale’s ongoing evolution.
This filing is another important milestone as Grayscale continues to build its best-in-class ETF team, product suite, and capabilities – serving investors as a globally respected asset manager with unmatched crypto expertise.
As reported previously, the SEC’s delay in approving spot Bitcoin ETFs, affecting major players like BlackRock and Invesco, adds uncertainty to the crypto investment landscape. Grayscale’s pursuit of a spot in Ethereum ETF amidst these delays highlights the challenges faced by the crypto industry in gaining mainstream acceptance amid regulatory hurdles.
