BlackRock Ether ETF Prospectus Gets Filed With SEC

BlackRock (BLK), the world’s largest asset manager, has filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its iShares Ethereum Trust, a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF).

This move follows last week's corporate registration of that name and Nasdaq's filing of a 19b-4 with the SEC seeking approval for the spot ETF.

The price of ether [ETH] briefly jumped nearly 2% to $2,080 on the S-1 filing but has since returned to roughly its price prior to the news.

Crypto prices have been responding swiftly to ETF-related updates, particularly after court rulings against the SEC’s rejection of spot crypto ETF applications in the last few months improved market hopes for approval. A spoof iShares ETF registration referencing XRP sent the token rallying 10% before BlackRock said it was fake.

Along with several other asset managers, BlackRock currently is awaiting word from the SEC on listing a spot bitcoin ETF that could open up average investor access to the crypto dramatically. Company CEO Larry Fink has apparently done a complete u-turn on crypto, recently expressing support for the sector.

UPDATE (Nov. 16, 11:50 UTC): Adds detail throughout.

Update (Nov. 16, 13:10 UTC): Notes that the SEC application was made last week, and updates price action.