Companies • November 9, 2023, 10:28AM EST
Published 1 minute earlier on
UPDATED: November 9, 2023, 11:19AM EST

BlackRock has filed to register a new iShares Ethereum Trust entity in Delaware

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The Block

Quick Take

  • BlackRock has filed to register a new iShares Ethereum Trust entity in Delaware.
  • The world’s largest asset manager is currently awaiting a decision on its spot bitcoin ETF application from the SEC.

A website for the Delaware Department of State Division of Corporations shows that BlackRock Advisors filed today for an iShares Ethereum Trust entity.

The filing indicates that BlackRock could be doubling down on crypto. The world's largest asset manager is currently awaiting a decision on its spot bitcoin ETF application from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A BlackRock spokesperson declined to comment to The Block. Ether's price has jumped nearly 8% today to around $2,040.

BlackRock's bitcoin ETF filing

BlackRock filed for the iShares Bitcoin Trust in June of this year, which moved markets. The iShares brand is associated with BlackRock's exchange-traded fund products. The iShares Bitcoin Trust filing was a registration statement with the SEC, with details such as its custodian (Coinbase Custody Trust Company) and benchmark (the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate from Administrator CF Benchmarks, a subsidiary of Kraken).

An iShares Ethereum Trust filing doesn't yet appear on the SEC's website. But notably, the iShares Bitcoin Trust entity was first registered in the Delaware state seven days before BlackRock filed the ETF application with the SEC. That suggests the iShares Ethereum Trust filing might appear on the SEC website next week.

The SEC is currently reviewing multiple spot bitcoin ETF applications, including one from BlackRock. The asset manager's bitcoin ETF ticker, IBTC, has also appeared on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp's website since August but was noticed only late last month.

Big trading firms, including Jane Street, Virtu Financial, and Jump Trading, are reportedly already in talks to provide liquidity for BlackRock's proposed spot bitcoin ETF if it obtains regulatory approval. Bitcoin's price has rallied over the past month due to the prospect of a spot bitcoin ETF approval. Earlier this month, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said that a rally in the price of bitcoin triggered by a false news report that said its spot ETF was approved served as an example of "pent-up interest in crypto."


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