BlackRock Prepares Ethereum ETF On Nasdaq, ETH Coin Soars 13%

JAKARTA - BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is increasingly serious about working on the crypto asset market. Through its subsidiary, Ishares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, BlackRock has submitted a 19b-4 form to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register Ishares Ethereum Trust shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The Ethereum Trust is an Exchange Trade-Fund (ETF) designed to reflect the price performance of ethereum (ETH), one of the second-largest crypto assets after bitcoin. This trust will hold the ethereum stored by Coinbase Customer Trust Company, one of the leading digital asset custodian service providers.

According to BlackRock's filing documents, the net asset value (NAB) of trust will be calculated every working day based on the CF Benchmarks index, which collects ETH trading data from several leading cryptocurrency exchanges. Trust shares will be issued and exchanged in "states", which are large blocks of shares traded with ethereum.

According to Bitcoin.com News, only authorized brokers are allowed to buy or redeem this basket, which could help reduce premium volatility and discounts usually linked to ethereum over-the-counter (OTC) funds.

The Ethereum ETF submission by Blackrock follows similar steps taken by Ark Invest, 21shares, and Vaneck with the SEC. This proposal also comes amid SEC approval of Ethereum-based ETFs and the recent discussion of Bitcoin ETFs.

The news about Ethereum's ETF submission from BlackRock received a positive response from the crypto market. Ethereum prices jumped more than 13% against the US dollar on November 9, 2023. The price of ETH rose from $1.885 (Rp29.5 million) to a peak of $2.135 (Rp33.4 million) per coin at around 19.00 WIB. This spike shows high interest in ethereum as an alternative investment asset amid global economic uncertainty.