(Reuters) – VanEck on Monday launched VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF, becoming one of the first U.S. investment managers to bring a futures-based exchange traded fund (ETF) tied to the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency ether to the market.
The newly launched fund will be investing in ether futures focused solely on those traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the fund manager said.
“Historically there has been a first mover advantage in the ETF market, particularly when the exposure the funds provide is the same,” said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.
“EFUT is positioned to gather assets from those investors wanting to tap into this slice of the crypto market.”
ProShares, Bitwise and Invesco have also filed to list a variety of ETFs tied to ether, that are expected to launch later in the day, according to traders and media reports.
The fund has an expense ratio of 0.66% and will be structured as a C-Corp, where it will be required to pay taxes at the fund level and any distributions to investors will be taxable to them.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal)
