Fund Manager Wisdomtree Files With SEC to List Ethereum ETF on Cboe BZX

The financial asset manager, Wisdomtree, is now the second institution to file for an ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), following Vaneck’s recent filing on May 7. The recently filed S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says the fund’s “investment objective is to gain exposure to the price of ether.”

Wisdomtree Follows Vaneck’s Lead and Files for an Ethereum-Based ETF

On Thursday, Wisdomtree revealed it wants to list an ether-based ETF on Cboe BZX Exchange, according to the firm’s latest S-1 filing. The SEC must approve the ETF and if the regulator does, investors can purchase Wisdomtree’s ether trust shares via regulated brokerage services.

The prospectus describes ether as “a digital asset that is not issued by any government, bank or central organization, and is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin.” The WisdomTree Ethereum Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, invoked on March 8, 2021. The Wisdomtree ETH-based ETF’s sole objective is to:

Gain exposure to the price of ether, less expenses, and liabilities of the Trust’s operations. In seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Trust will hold ether and will value its Shares daily based on the [CF Ether-Dollar US Settlement Price], which is an independently calculated value based on an aggregation of executed trade flow of major ether spot exchanges.

Ethereum Trust Will Follow Emerging Growth Company Reporting

In recent times, Wisdomtree’s bitcoin (BTC)-based exchange-traded fund was being reviewed by the U.S. financial regulator, and the company recently launched an ether-based exchange-traded product (ETP). Wisdomtree’s ethereum ETPs are listed on Deutsche Boerse’s Xetra and Switzerland’s Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX).

Wisdomtree’s S-1 filed on Thursday says the ether trust will qualify as an “emerging growth company,” and leverage the JOBS Act reduced reporting requirements. For instance, the trust doesn’t have to present an auditor’s attestation report or comply with 2012’s Public Company Accounting Oversight Board guidelines, unless the SEC disapproves of these actions.

“The Trust will cease to be an ‘emerging growth company’ upon the earliest of it having $1.0 billion or more in annual revenues,” Wisdomtree’s ether ETF filing notes.

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