These 5 spot Ethereum ETFs are set to launch July 23: CBOE

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has confirmed that it will launch spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) next week.

The cryptocurrency market will witness a major turning point next week with the start of trading of spot Ethereum ETFs on the CBOE.

CBOE has revealed the information in its latest “new listings” announcement on its website, confirming the launch of five Ethereum (ETH) ETFs. These include:

21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETF) Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) Franklin Ethereum ETF (EZET) Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF (QETH) VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV)

According to the announcement, trading of the highly anticipated ETFs will begin on July 23 following regulatory approval.

The proposed ETFs would track ETH, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $420.8 billion, falling behind only Bitcoin’s $1.1 trillion market cap.

The price of ETH has yet to react much to the news, rising only a modest 0.8% in the last 24 hours. Trading volumes are also down 15.5%, with around $13.3 billion worth of ETH changing hands as of yesterday.

Ethereum 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinGecko

This development comes after months of speculation and revised estimates from industry analysts.

Trending on social media

More recently, anticipation for the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs has become evident on social media. For example, on July 14, Nate Geraci, a prominent voice in the ETF space, expressed confidence in imminent approval, stating that there was no apparent reason for further delays and that issuers were ready to launch.

Welcome to spot ETF approval week…

I’m calling.

I don’t know anything specific, I can’t find any good reason for further delay at this stage.

Publishers are ready to launch.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) July 14, 2024

Then on July 15, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas backed up Geraci’s prediction, telling his followers that the SEC had contacted issuers to complete documents and request events for a launch on Tuesday, July 23, assuming no “unforeseen last-minute issues” arise.

Update: Nate’s instincts were correct, heard the SEC finally got back to issuers today, asking them to return FINAL S-1s (including fees) on Wednesday and then request a TUESDAY 7/23 LAUNCH after the close on Monday. This was achieved without any unforeseen last minute issues, of course! https://t.co/D21FD9Qf94

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) July 15, 2024

Balchunas’ previous estimates suggested that ETFs could start trading as early as July 2. However, he later adjusted his estimate to July 18, which is more in line with the new official launch date.

Two months ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appeared to put the brakes on approval of Ethereum ETFs, using the same arguments it made when delaying approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The regulator claimed there were concerns about potential fraud and investor protection regarding spot Ethereum ETFs.

However, the approval from the CBOE signals a promising step for the crypto market. Their performance and demand will be closely monitored as their success could pave the way for additional crypto ETF applications in the future.

This approval coincides with a marked improvement in the performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw a significant net inflow of $17 billion, indicating increasing mainstream acceptance of crypto investments.