Investment firms ARK Invest and 21Shares have joined forces to seek approval for two ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs), amid indications that US securities regulators could soon start approving such applications.
According to an August 24 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the proposed ETFs are named the "ARK 21Shares Active Ethereum Futures ETF" (ARKZ) and the "ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF" (ARKY).
ARKZ is designed to allocate at least 25% of its total assets to cash-settled ethereum futures contracts, such as those available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). On the other hand, ARKY will include both Bitcoin and Ethereum futures contracts .This The collaboration marks the first joint effort between Ark Invest and 21Shares since they teamed up in 2021 to launch a spot bitcoin ETF.
The SEC has previously rejected two bitcoin spot ETF applications in January 2022 and March 2022. Ark Invest's most recent bitcoin spot ETF application was submitted in April, a couple of months before the $10 trillion investment giant BlackRock Inc. filed its own application.
To address the SEC's concerns, applicants like ARK 21Shares have been enhancing their proposals by including surveillance sharing agreements. Additionally, investment firms are awaiting decisions on the Ark 21Shares Active Bitcoin Futures ETF (ARKA) and Ark 2 1Shares Active On-Chain Bitcoin Strategy ETF ( ARKC).
