According to a document posted on the website of the American NASDAQ exchange, investment company BlackRock has filed an application to launch a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) for ether.
The filing indicates that the company intends to launch a fund called the iShares Ethereum Trust. Earlier this year, BlackRock registered a Bitcoin trust in the same way, and a week later filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a Bitcoin spot ETF.
On the back of this news, the price of ether soared 9% and now the second-largest cryptocurrency is trading at $2,110. BlackRock declined to comment on the creation of the trust or any plans to launch an ETF. To date, about a dozen companies have applied to create Bitcoin spot ETFs or convert existing products into spot ETFs, fueling a frenzy in the cryptocurrency market.
CoinDesk recently reported , citing its own sources, that the SEC has begun negotiations with Grayscale Investments about the details of the company’s application to launch a Bitcoin ETF.