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Ethereum ETF: Franklin Templeton Enters The Fray As ETH Rallies

Wall Street titan and Asset manager Franklin Templeton has applied for an Ethereum Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) after a struggle to gain approval for their Bitcoin Spot ETF in early January.

Asset Manager Files For Spot Ethereum ETF

Asset managers have gravitated toward the Ethereum spot ETF since the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Spot Bitcoin ETF. Franklin Templeton is the latest manager to apply with the SEC to get approval for this financial product. 

The asset manager’s move came after successfully introducing the BTC spot ETFs. This is a notable step toward making more crypto investment products accessible to institutional and individual investors.

James Seyffart, a senior analyst from Bloomberg Intelligence, also shared the update with the crypto community on X (formerly Twitter). Seyffart’s X post included a screenshot of the asset manager’s filing and data regarding other applicants.

According to the post, Franklin Templeton is the eighth company in the cryptocurrency market to file for product approval. Previous asset managers to file applications for Ethereum ETFs include Hashdex, BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark and 21Shares, Grayscale, VanEck, Invesco, and Galaxy. 

Per the official filing, a Delaware statutory trust is how the Franklin Ethereum Trust is set up. The ETF aims to give investors access to ETH in a regulated manner by allowing them to store it directly through a custodian.

It states in the company’s S-1 filing that the proposed “Franklin Ethereum Trust” will hold ETH and “may, from time to time, stake a portion of the fund’s assets through one of the more trusted staking providers.”

Staking is the act of locking up digital currency to maintain the operations of a blockchain network. They plan to stake some of the ETF’s ETH holdings to supplement its income through staking rewards.

The Price Of ETH Rallies Amidst The Update

Franklin Templeton’s spot Ethereum ETF application was made in light of the price of ETH experiencing an uptick. However, no solid proof exists that the latest development impacted the price of crypto assets.

Related Reading: Ethereum ETFs Approval Date Set For May 23, Forecasts Suggest ETH Could Reach $4,000

Ethereum was trading at $2,661 as of press time, indicating an increase of over 7% in the past 24 hours. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that its market capitalization is also on the upside, marking an increase of over 7%. 

Meanwhile, its trading volume has increased significantly by over 172% in the past day. Due to the rise, ETH now ranks third in the entire crypto market by trading volume.

Ethereum

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Bitcoin ETF Makes Waves: Volumes Surge $10 Billion 3 Days

Bitcoin Spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have once again garnered the attention of crypto enthusiasts and investors as the products have witnessed a whopping $10 billion in total trading volume in the first three days of trading.

Bitcoin Spot ETF Sees Significant Uptick In Day 3 Trading

The development was revealed by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The information shared by the analyst demonstrates a firm desire for exposure to digital assets via regulated financial markets.

Seyffart’s X post delves in on the data from the “Bitcoin ETF Cointucky Derby.” According to the analyst, “ETFs traded almost $10 billion in total over the past 3 days.” 

The analyst also provided a virtual record of the data to further elaborate on the substantial trading volume. With a total volume of over $5 billion, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) stands out as the top performer among the notable financial firms.

BItcoin

Meanwhile, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) come next in line. The data shows that the financial firms witnessed an overall trading volume of $1.997 billion and $1.479 billion, respectively. 

ARK’s 21Shares ETF (ARKB) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BTTB) followed behind with a substantial total trading volume of $568 million and $258 million, respectively. This spike in trading volume indicates that both institutional and individual investors are growing more at ease utilizing traditional investment engines to trade BTC.

Although Grayscale’s Bitcoin fund continues to gain the highest overall trading volume, the fund has seen significant withdrawals from investors seeking to lower their exposure.

There have been withdrawals totaling more than $579 million since Grayscale started trading on January 11. Currently, Grayscale is still considered the “Liquidity King” of the Bitcoin spot ETFs.

However, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas anticipates that Blackrock might oversee Grayscale to claim the title. “IBIT keeping lead to be one most likely to overtake GBTC as Liquidity King,” he stated.

3-Day Trading Surpassed 500 ETFs In 2023

Following the report, Eric Balchunas has provided a context for the massive surge of these products. The analyst did so by comparing the trading volume of BTC ETFs to all the ETFs that were launched in 2023.

“Let me put into context how insane $10b in volume is in the first 3 days. There were 500 ETFs launched in 2023,” Balchunas stated. According to him, the 500 ETFs completed a $450 million combined volume today, and the best one did $45 million.

In addition, Balchunas highlighted that Blackrock‘s BTC ETF demonstrates a better performance than the 500 ETFs. “IBIT alone is seeing more activity than the entire ’23 Freshman Class,” he stated. It is noteworthy that half of the ETFs launched in 2023 recorded an overall trading volume of “less than $1 million” today.

Balchunas also stressed the difficulty in acquiring volume, noting that it is harder than flows and assets. This is because the volume has to come genuinely in the marketplace, which gives an “ETF lasting power.”

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Bitcoin A Tad Closer To $40,000 – Is $41K The Next Stop In A Few Days?

Maintaining its lofty position—the highest it has reached in the last 18 months—Bitcoin is once again on the edge of a potential price increase.

With a notable 10% gain over the previous month and more than a doubling of its value over the same period last year, the markets valued Bitcoin (BTC) at over $38,600 on Friday morning.

The alpha coin’s supporters credit its strong success thus far to the excitement around spot Bitcoin ETFs, like the one put up by BlackRock, which might be approved at any time.

During European morning hours on Friday, Bitcoin almost reached the coveted $40,000 mark, hitting $38,810 for the first time since May 2022. Expectations of increasing institutional demand have supported the increase, which is a continuation of a solid multi-month run.

Data from cryptocurrency market tracker Coingecko indicates that the coin is up approximately 2% on the day, and sustaining a 3% gain in the last seven days.

Expert Predictions For Bitcoin: What They Say

Experts are becoming increasingly fixated on the ETF, as approval of the product approaches. An important piece of information comes directly from Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, who projects that the clearance date would occur between January 5 and January 10, 2024.

This projection follows a string of purposefully extended deadlines, indicating a concerted attempt by the SEC to accept several ETF applications at the same time.

Seyffart’s analysis focuses on the timelines for Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, suggesting that the timeline to green light all 12 spot Bitcoin ETF applications may coincide between January 5 and 10.

The founder and chief market strategist of NorthmanTrader, Sven Henrich, offered his predictions for the present and future of the Bitcoin market. He examined short-term forecasts, the structural soundness of the market, and made comparisons with past market patterns.

Henrich projected a possible shift to between $41,000 and $43,000, especially as the year came to a finish. He did, however, stress the need for caution because of the cryptocurrency’s association with more general market trends, particularly in the tech industry.

Mike Novogratz, a well-known businessman and cryptocurrency advocate, expressed unrelenting optimism about the trajectory of Bitcoin and attributed his positive perspective to the much anticipated approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Is $41K The Next Stop For Bitcoin?

Novogratz thinks that Bitcoin’s value will go through the roof if big financial entities like BlackRock and Fidelity start to use it, which will cause its price to reach all-time highs.

The bitcoin community is growing increasingly optimistic that the price of the cryptocurrency may rise to $41,000 in the next few days as it approaches the $40,000 threshold. Because of the market’s volatility, traders are constantly on the lookout for the next move.

It is unclear if Bitcoin will run into resistance or continue on its current upward trend. By constantly observing price charts and market indicators, investors prepare themselves for the dynamics of the market as they develop.

(This site’s content should not be construed as investment advice. Investing involves risk. When you invest, your capital is subject to risk).

Featured image from Shutterstock

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BlockFi Filed For The Coveted Spot Bitcoin ETF With The SEC

Will BlockFi be the one? The rumors are flying, apparently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF soon. With that in mind, the news that crypto lending platform and investment service BlockFi just filed to get one approved was met with suspicion and excitement by the Bitcoin community. Unlike the Bitcoin Futures ETF, a spot one will require the company sponsoring it to buy a huge amount of Bitcoin. This will definitely affect the price. However… BlockFi?

Related Reading | Bitcoin Futures ETF Exceeds Expectations, Trades $1 Billion On Day One

Last year, hackers targeted BlockFi and stole sensitive user data including their clients’ activity history. To add insult to injury, the hackers used a simple SIM swap to breach their security, and the company didn’t disclose the hack until days after it happened. More recently, regulators from five states accused the controversial lending platform of violating security laws with their BlockFi Interest Account product. In a statement regarding the issue, the company said:

“BlockFi’s BIAs have been the subject of recent activity by securities regulators in New Jersey, Texas, Alabama, Vermont and Kentucky, and we are in active dialogue with these regulators. We believe that our products and services are lawful and appropriate for crypto market participants, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect consumers’ rights to earn interest on their crypto assets.”

In any case, past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. And BlockFi could score big if they’re the chosen one. The first spot Bitcoin ETF is expected to shatter all kinds of records, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

BTC price chart for 11/09/2021 on Oanda | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
What Do We Know About BlockFi’s Version Of A Bitcoin ETF?

Not much, actually. The project is a joint venture with investment management firm Neuberger Berman. If approved, it will trade on the New York Stock Exchange. It will “reflect the performance of bitcoins held by the Trust, less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities.” Yes, the registration statement actually says “bitcoins,” but let’s give them a pass for now. What else does the document reveal? Well…

“Barring a liquidation or extraordinary circumstances, the Trust will not purchase or sell bitcoin directly, although the Trust may direct the Custodian to sell bitcoin to pay certain expenses. Instead, when the Trust sells or redeems its Shares, it will do so in “in-kind” transactions in blocks of [] Shares (a “Creation Basket”) based on the quantity of bitcoin attributable to each Share (…). Because the creation and redemption of Creation Baskets will be effected in in-kind transactions based on the quantity of bitcoin attributable to each Share, the quantity of bitcoin in Creation Baskets so created or redeemed will generally not be affected by fluctuations in the value of bitcoin.”

In any case, is not even close to guaranteed that  BlockFi will win the coveted first spot. The amount of ETF fillings regarding Bitcoin is getting ridiculous, actually.

Who’s Next On The SEC’s Bitcoin ETF List?

The list Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart provides shows 21 hopeful spot Bitcoin ETFs and even more derivatives-based ones. That includes the BlockFi Futures ETF that the company filed for last month. Here’s the list.

Here's the current list of #Bitcoin and Crypto ETF filings with the SEC. Next big date is still 11/14/21 for VanEck's spot Bitcoin ETF. It will be either approval or denial from SEC — no more delays. https://t.co/Z8phpVlsOK pic.twitter.com/g9ayoibmQN

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 8, 2021

According to the expert, the “Next big date is still 11/14/21 for VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF. It will be either approval or denial from SEC — no more delays.” Will VanEck be the chosen one? We’ll have to wait and see, but Seyffart feels it won’t be. He tweeted, “We fully expect a denial based on recent comments from SEC/Gensler. Would be shocked if VanEck’s filing is approved (despite believing it *should* be approved). BUT, the denial letter should give us insight into SEC’s current views/opinions.”

Related Reading | Bitcoin ETF Inflows Slow Down As Altcoins Interest Rebound

Chances are all the approved spot Bitcoin ETFs will make tons of fiat money, but the first-mover advantage in a product as anticipated as this one is worth millions of Dollars. Billions, even.

Featured Image by Chris Stermitz from Pixabay – Charts by TradingView