BlackRock, Nasdaq submit filing to introduce options for spot Ethereum ETFs

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BlackRock and Nasdaq made a move today to add options to the asset manager’s spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF) iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to the filing:

“In particular, the Exchange believes that the proposal to list and trade options on the Trust will remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, in general, protect investors because offering options on the Trust will provide investors with a greater opportunity to realize the benefits of utilizing options on an ETF based on spot ether, including cost efficiencies and increased hedging strategies.”

Additionally, Nasdaq mentioned that it already listed options on other commodity ETFs structured as trusts, mentioning BlackRock products as examples, such as the iShares COMEX Gold Trust and the iShares Silver Trust.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart shared on X (formerly Twitter) that the SEC has 21 days to provide comments on the matter. Nevertheless, he said the final deadline for a regulator decision is “likely to be around” April 9, 2025.

Notably, the SEC is not the only regulator that needs to approve this joint move by Nasdaq and BlackRock. As Seyffart highlighted, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also need to approve the requirement.

ETHA’s rising dominance

BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF has been on a crescent movement in inflows. Since the launch of the spot Ethereum ETFs in the US on July 23, ETHA dominance has tripled from 3% to 9%. According to DefiLlama, ETHA’s assets under management (AUM) sit at over $521 million.

However, Grayscale’s trust converted into ETF, ETHE, still holds a large lead over the other funds. ETHE’s AUM is $4.77 billion, nearly nine times the size of ETHA.

Nevertheless, the same movement happened after the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, ending up with BlackRock’s IBIT gradually growing and taking the lead from Grayscale’s GBTC.

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