Grayscale Investments, the world’s biggest digital asset manager, has filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for permission to turn the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) into a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Grayscale Now Wants To Transform Ethereum Trust To Spot ETF

Grayscale Investments, in conjunction with the New York Stock Exchange Arca, has moved to convert the Grayscale Ethereum trust to a spot ether ETF.

The investment firm filed Form 19b-4 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 2.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein revealed the move on X, formerly known as Twitter, and stressed the company’s plan to provide conventional investment products giving investors exposure to crypto assets:

“At Grayscale, our unwavering commitment is to offer investors transparent and regulated access to crypto through product structures that are familiar,” Michael posited in a statement. “As we file to convert ETHE to an ETF, the natural next step in the product’s evolution, we recognize this as an important moment to bring Ethereum even further into the U.S. regulatory perimeter.”

The Grayscale Ethereum Trust was unveiled in March 2019 and is the largest Ether investment vehicle globally, boasting a staggering $4.9 billion in assets under management. The trust accounts for 2.5% of all ether in circulation. ETHE subsequently became an SEC reporting company in October 2020, bolstering its transparency.  

Grayscale’s filing comes on the heels of the first-ever ETH futures ETFs making their debut in the U.S. market. Notably, VanEck, Bitwise, ProShares, and others launched ether futures-based ETFs earlier today. 

Grayscale, after notching a big legal win over the SEC this past summer, is also awaiting approval from the SEC to transform its flagship Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF.

As ZyCrypto previously reported, JPMorgan predicted that the U.S. agency will likely have no choice but to give the regulatory blessing to several spot Bitcoin ETF filings sooner rather than later after Grayscale’s court victory.

Grayscale also applied to offer a new ETH futures ETF last month, which will not transact in Ethereum and would not be required to retain an Ether custodian.

Now, as the investment firm awaits the SEC’s decision regarding its spot BTC ETF and the ether spot product, it is hoping an Ethereum futures product will get the green light from the regulator.