Wall Street Heavyweights Rally for Approvals of Spot Ether ETFs, Says Bill Qian
Summary:
Wall Street firms and leading financial institutions are leading the charge in advocating for the approval of spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to Bill Qian, chairman of Cypher Capital. He stated these firms are interested due to the potential ETF-related fees, with major contenders for a spot Ether ETF including BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity among others. The approval of Ether ETFs might face delays, but Qian believes a spot Ether ETF is likely to get approved this year, primarily due to demand by BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager.
It's reported that heavyweights of Wall Street and top-tier financial establishments are striving for the acceptance of spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These efforts aren't driven by cryptocurrency enthusiasts, noted Bill Qian, Cypher Capital's chairman and the ex-global chief of fundraising at Binance Labs. Qian revealed in a Cointelegraph interview, "At this point, the push for ETF approval isn't coming from the crypto community. Rather, Wall Street firms are giving their all for it to materialize." According to Qian, institutional asset management organizations are the primary lobbyists, given that introducing and acquiring approval for the ETF both serve their interests. It's a battle of assets under management (AUM), he explained, and to elevate their AUM, these companies require ETF approval.
Among the institutions battling to introduce a spot Ether ETF are BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, Hashdex, and Franklin Templeton. Decisions from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the ETF applications from VanEck, Hashdex, and ARK 21Shares have been delayed till May 23 and March 19 respectively. Both these applications have the ultimate deadline for decision sometime in late May.
While crypto enthusiasts would perceive the Ether ETF approval as a positive move, Qian observed that larger issuers have more significant stakes as they stand to earn from ETF-associated fees. It's these firms on Wall Street that are eager for approval in order to accumulate an ETF management fee, explained Qian.
Among the ETFs, Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF levies the most significant fee at 1.5%, followed by BlackRock and Fidelity at 0.25%, and 21Shares at 0.21%. Prior to the acceptance of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, several applicants repeatedly adjusted their S-1 filings to reduce their ETF fees, thereby lowering the management fees for clients. Among the ten ETF issuers, Bitwise offered the lowest, proposing ETFs with no fees for the initial six months and $1 billion in assets, to later charge a 0.20% fee. But Qian believes there's a high likelihood for a spot Ether ETF to receive approval this year, driven by the demand from BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm, boasting trillions in capital.
To conclude, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart anticipates that Ether ETF approvals will likely face rejection towards May's end, based on a piece published on March 19.
Published At
3/21/2024 3:55:05 PM
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