Nasdaq Requests SEC to Establish "Mixed" Ethereum ETF for Hashdex
Hashdex and Nasdaq continue their joint effort to register an Ethereum ETF "mixed" fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Nasdaq Requests SEC to Establish "Mixed" Ethereum ETF for Hashdex. Photo: Nasdaq
Recently, the Nasdaq stock exchange submitted a request to the SEC to list an Ethereum ETF from the Brazilian asset manager Hashdex, structured as both spot and futures.
The proposed open-end fund is named Hashdex Nasdaq Ethereum ETF, managed and supervised by Toroso Investments, an organization registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and a member of the National Futures Association.
The fund's objective is to reflect the daily price fluctuations of the Nasdaq Ether Reference Price. To achieve this ambition, the fund will invest in Ethereum, ETH futures contracts listed on the CME, cash, and cash-equivalent assets.
Explaining this approach, Nasdaq stated:
"Instead of relying 100% on ETH spot, which could be susceptible to market manipulation, the fund will hold a mix of spot, futures, and cash."
Before submitting the proposal to the SEC, Hashdex CEO Marcelo Sampaio referred to Grayscale Investments' recent success before the commission regarding the conversion of GBTC into a Bitcoin ETF. Sampaio also expressed confidence in the eventual approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, though the timeline remains uncertain.
Hashdex, an exclusive partner of the leading U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq, co-developed the Nasdaq Crypto Index (NCI), used to measure the performance of a segment of the crypto market, providing a benchmark for institutional investment.
Hashdex's move is bolstered by Ark Invest and VanEck, which recently announced the first spot Ethereum ETF proposals in the U.S. Additionally, several Ethereum ETF Futures applications are pending approval, including submissions from Direxion, ProShares, Bitwise, and Valkyrie. Moreover, numerous financial institutions are also lining up for the launch of the first spot Bitcoin ETF, including BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Valkyrie, and Invesco.
The deadline for the SEC to make a final decision on each registration is 240 days. According to Bloomberg's latest estimates, the likelihood of the SEC approving spot ETFs is currently at 75%. To date, while approving futures funds, the SEC has delayed decisions on spot ETF products, citing concerns over market manipulation, speculation, and fraud.
