9th Ethereum ETF application

On the 12th, major US asset management company Franklin Templeton filed an S-1 registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in preparation for the launch of a spot ETF (exchange traded fund) based on the crypto asset (virtual currency) Ethereum (ETH). A notification form has been submitted.

The fund aims to directly reflect Ethereum price movements and has chosen Coinbase custody to store its digital assets. The shares aim to be traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Franklin Templeton is the ninth such asset management firm to launch an Ethereum ETF, including Ark Invest, Grayscale, and BlackRock.

The Franklin Ethereum ETF aims to make investing in Ethereum more accessible and is designed to reduce the complexity and operational burden associated with directly acquiring, holding, and trading Ethereum. This ETF uses a cash creation/redemption method, meaning that investors invest in the ETF with cash and receive cash upon redemption. This method is also a feature seen in the spot Ethereum ETF proposal by Ark & 21 Shares.

Ark & 21Shares has proposed incorporating staking features into its fund structure, and similar features can be seen in Franklin Templeton’s application. The proposal would allow a fund to stake a portion of its assets through a trusted staking provider and treat the fees earned as income for the fund.

connection:SCB Silver Bullish prediction that SEC will approve Ethereum spot ETF in May

Important deadline in May

On January 26, the SEC postponed its review of Grayscale’s application to convert the Ethereum Trust into an ETF and is soliciting public comments. Additionally, the decision on the Ethereum spot ETF application jointly filed by Invesco and Galaxy Digital has been postponed to February 6th.

Despite these postponements, major financial institutions expect the price of Ethereum to rise significantly in the coming months. Among investors, May 23, the deadline for the final decision on VanEck’s Ethereum spot ETF listing application, is seen as a key date for the Ethereum ETF’s approval.

A memo from Standard Chartered Bank in January said, “We expect pending applications for a U.S. Ethereum spot ETF to be approved by the original closing deadline of May 23,” and “ETH prices. If ETH performs similar to the performance of BTC prices leading up to the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF, ETH could trade as high as $4,000 by then.”

The bank based its approval on the fact that the SEC has not classified ETH as a security in previous legal actions against crypto companies, and that ETH futures have already been listed on the CME exchange.

Furthermore, since Grayscale is also trying to convert the ETH investment trust into a physical ETF, if it were disapproved, the US SEC would have lost the lawsuit after GBTC was disapproved. I don’t think they would want to repeat it over and over again.

Meanwhile, U.S. investment bank TD Cowen took a bearish view, predicting that approval could take place in late 2025 or early 2026 due to the U.S. political environment.

connection:U.S. investment bank TD Cowen: “Approval of Ethereum spot ETF will probably take place after the second half of next year.”

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