The spot Ethereum ETF has filed S-1 forms, but it could take a few weeks before the funds open for trading. But Ark Invest, owned by Cathie Wood, has abandoned the scheme.
With the decision to withdraw the application, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has taken a backseat compared to the majority of candidates for the spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF, who have updated their S-1 files. It has so terminated its collaboration with 21Shares.
21Shares to go solo with Ethereum ETF
It has been stated by ARK Invest that an Ethereum ETF will not be released at this time. The company is still dedicated to looking at methods to expose investors to the underlying technology of Ethereum, though.
ARK highlights that it is committed to using its knowledge of active management to offer a variety of investment options. The ARK Venture Fund, digital asset futures ETFs, and disruptive innovation equity ETFs are a few examples of these.
Notably, ARK is one of the select few businesses that was given the go-ahead by the SEC to introduce a Bitcoin ETF in January. The company is committed to its ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), highlighting its conviction that Bitcoin should be affordable for anyone.
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg analyst, recently disclosed that 21Shares will now move on with the Ethereum ETF on its own. Both the ETF’s name and the related paperwork no longer include ARK Invest. In spite of this development, ARK and 21Shares are still working together on futures ETFs and Bitcoin.
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Furthermore, Balchunas pointed out that none of the recent S-1 filings include any fees, suggesting that the long-expected fee battle has been put on hold for the time being.
21Shares is doing the Ethereum ETF solo now, ARK has been dropped from the document and name, but they still remain partners on the Bitcoin and futures’ ETFs. Also no fees in any of the new S-1s. Fee war on hold for now. https://t.co/e7RHiuwITw
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 31, 2024
Last minute filing of S-1 forms
Issuers of potential spot Ethereum ETFs have been instructed by the U.S. SEC to submit their updated S-1 forms by Friday. Franklin Templeton filed its S-1 on Friday in a last-minute scramble. Even yet, it could take a few weeks for the new financial items to begin trading and for these forms to take effect.
VanEck swiftly filed a revised S-1 form after spot Ethereum ETF applications were initially approved last week. BlackRock filed an amended form on Thursday revealing that the ETF will get a $10 million seed.
Be persistent with the SEC, says Franklin Templeton digital asset head
Roger Bayston observes a shift in the SEC’s stance despite the agency’s efforts to protect the economy.
According to Roger Bayston, head of digital assets at Franklin Templeton, financial innovators are just playing the long game with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Like many other regulatory agencies, the SEC prefers to follow established legal precedents. At the Consensus event, Bayston told Turner Wright of Cointelegraph, “That’s just the process we’re engaged in. Those precedents are being set in courts of law frequently.”
Although the SEC’s “open door” strategy was often criticized for being cynical, Bayston believed that the agency was protecting the economy and that its actions were manageable:
“We wouldn’t be in the business for 76 years — the business of trust — if we didn’t have some discipline and persistence and collaborative behavior with the global regulators we face.”
Comparing this year to previous, Bayston pointed out that the SEC is seeing changes. “We’re excited as they shift and change their tone, and we’ve been pleasantly engaged with the SEC,” he remarked.
It took Franklin Templeton “practically a five-year journey with them [the SEC], helping to illuminate them, educate them on the uses of blockchain technology in operating mutual funds” before the company officially launched its Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (the “Benji”) in 2023.
Crypto adds value to blockchain technology
Bayston likened stablecoins to tokenized money funds. The operator receives money from the saver, invests it, returns the money, and keeps the profits from those investments.
“Banks and money funds have existed side-by-side for multiple decades. I think this is the same construct that is likely to move forward,” Bayston said.
Franklin Templeton is bullish on cryptocurrency, Bayston suggests:
“We believe in the technologies and therefore we believe that the [crypto] tokens, properly structured, represent value for these technologies.”
As significant to investment portfolios as technology stocks were thirty years ago, he claimed that cryptocurrency is.
Compared to other applicants, Franklin Templeton submitted their application for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund to the SEC later. Originally scheduled to be decided on June 11, the application was approved on May 23 along with the others.
That did not surprise Bayston. In this emerging market, they were “not trying to give anybody an advantage,” he said.
XRP whale accumulate 100M coins from Binance, price rally inbound?
Despite price swings, around 100 million XRP tokens have been amassed in the last day, according to on-chain data. XRP was trading at $0.51 on June 1st.
Notwithstanding the recent price fluctuation of XRP, an intriguing development has occurred: slightly more than 100 million coins have been recorded to have amassed in the last day, creating a stir among investors and dealers in the cryptocurrency market. $52 million worth of XRP coins were purchased by whales from Binance, one of the top exchanges in the world, according to on-chain data that has surfaced in the cryptocurrency market.
The cryptocurrency sponsored by Ripple Labs is expected to see a price increase soon, as a result of these whale transactions. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that during this bull cycle, it is highly predicted that the token will surpass its wave three price goal of $1.
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Whale transactions ignite bullish hope
To be more precise, this notable accumulation was caused by two whales from Binance, according to data from the on-chain transaction tracker Whale Alert. 50.30 million XRP were moved in the first transaction to the address rfQ9EcLkU6…eN47Rk8Cvi, and the same amount were transferred in the second transaction to the address rarG6FaeYh…gFsPn2bZKk. Bithomp’s data indicates that both of these wallets were activated on the same day, which raises questions about the motivations behind these transactions.
Normal market emotions, however, express confidence in light of the enormous accumulations that are at play. It’s important to remember that the aforementioned quantity of coins was amassed throughout the $0.51 price range for XRP.
Additionally, recent reports from CoinGape Media have shown that XRP accumulations have increased recently at comparable price points. This occurrence has created significant market confidence for the Ripple-backed token, coinciding with the market’s $1 price goal optimism.