VanEck and ProShares have seemingly chosen not to pursue exchange-traded funds with Ether exposure, less than two days after submitting separate applications to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In separate SEC filings dated Aug. 20, legal representatives for VanEck and ProShares both stated that the companies had decided not to register their respective Ether-based exchange-traded funds or ETFs.
On Aug. 18, VanEck filed a filing with the SEC to launch an “Ethereum Strategy ETF,” while ProShares filed for an “Ether Strategy ETF” the same day.
Both products appeared to be focused on providing Ether (ETH) exposure through futures contracts, pooled investment vehicles, and other exchange-traded goods.
It’s unclear why both asset managers applied for and withdrew seemingly comparable Ether ETF applications on the same days, but they both stated that they had not sold any securities related to the proposed offering.
Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, stated earlier this month that he would be more open to adopting ETFs based on crypto futures rather than direct exposure.
The government was already reviewing VanEck’s Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds at the time, but the company later filed a separate prospectus for a Bitcoin “strategy” ETF, a fund having exposure to BTC future contracts.
