The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is officially launching five spot Ethereum ETFs, marking a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency market. This follows the SEC’s final approval of each fund issuer’s S-1 registration statements, allowing trading to commence today.

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Launch Details and ETFs Involved

The five spot Ether ETFs now trading on the CBOE are:

21Shares Core Ethereum ETF
Fidelity Ethereum Fund
Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF
VanEck Ethereum ETF
Franklin Ethereum ETF

In addition to CBOE, the Nasdaq exchange has listed a spot Ether ETF from BlackRock. Meanwhile, Bitwise and Grayscale Investments have started trading their products on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

To capture market share, the issuers of these ETFs plan to temporarily waive or discount fees, making them more attractive to investors. Fee structures for these ETFs range from a low of 0.19% for Franklin Templeton’s ETF to a high of 2.5% for Grayscale’s existing Ethereum trust, which is being converted into an ETF.

The majority of the other ETFs have fees around 0.25%. Grayscale also plans to introduce a “mini” version of both its Ether and Bitcoin ETFs with a fee of only 0.15%.

Market Impact and Predictions

Analysts forecast that the introduction of these Ether ETFs could lead to significant inflows, potentially attracting billions in net investments. Galaxy Research, associated with Galaxy Asset Management, predicts that Ether ETFs could draw monthly inflows of $1 billion.

This surge in institutional demand could trigger an Ethereum supply crunch, as current Ethereum Exchange Reserve levels are at multi-year lows. A report by Kaiko indicates that lower liquidity might increase Ethereum’s price volatility, potentially leading to higher price gains compared to Bitcoin.

Danny Chong, Co-Founder of Tranchess, commented on the potential impact of these ETFs:
“The Spot ETF inflows could have a bigger impact on Ether than Bitcoin due to Ethereum’s rapidly expanding ecosystem. The Ether/BTC price ratio has already seen positive movement as investors anticipate ETH ETFs to go live soon. This not only highlights increased interest but is also a sign that ETH ETFs are gaining momentum and could potentially outperform Bitcoin.”

Danny Chong, Co-Founder of Tranchess
He added, “But of course, the leading question is will ETH ETFs do better than Bitcoin ETFs? In technicality, Ethereum has more utility than Bitcoin with features like liquid staking.

However, Eth ETFs were slow to live up to the industry’s expectations when launched in Hong Kong. I do believe that with a larger investor base, Eth ETFs should be able to perform better and bring in the liquidity we require.”

Context and Historical Significance

The Ether ETFs follow the successful launch of nine U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, which marked a significant victory for the cryptocurrency industry after a decade-long battle with the SEC. The Bitcoin ETFs attracted $33.1 billion in net inflows by the end of June, making it one of the most successful launches in ETF market history.

The SEC had initially rejected these products due to concerns about market manipulation but was compelled to approve them following a court challenge by Grayscale Investments.

Kenny Li, Co-Founder and Core Contributor of Manta Network, shared his optimism about the broader implications for blockchain technology: “The future of blockchain over the next five years looks very promising, with increasing integration into mainstream financial systems.

A clear indicator of this trend is the launch of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong, coupled with the potential approval of an ETH ETF in the United States. These developments indicate a growing acceptance and regulatory support for blockchain worldwide.”