ARK Invest and 21Shares Co-Apply for ETFs Tracking Ethereum and Bitcoin Futures

Crypto News– Adding to the growing pool of companies aspiring to introduce such offerings, ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, and 21Shares have collaboratively filed an application for two exchange-traded funds (ETF) products linked to futures contracts for ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC).

ARK Invest and 21Shares Co-Apply for ETFs Tracking Ethereum and Bitcoin Futures

The application was lodged with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday through the investment advisor of the products, Empowered Funds. This submission presents two distinct ETFs: the ARK 21Shares Active Ethereum Futures ETF (ARKZ) and the ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Ethereum Strategy ETF (ARKY).

Contrary to directly investing in the actual digital assets or spot products, these ETFs will center their focus on cash-settled futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). As delineated in the filing, ARKZ is designed to allocate a minimum of 25% to ether futures products related to the ETH cryptocurrency. The remaining portion of the fund’s investments will be distributed among U.S. Treasuries, money market instruments, and repurchase agreements.

In a similar vein, ARKY will devote a minimum of 25% to combined ether and bitcoin futures products, with the remainder of its assets assigned to cash and cash equivalents, predominantly U.S. government securities. This proactive approach by ARK Invest and 21Shares aligns with the trend of various firms seeking approval for ether futures-based exchange-traded funds this month. Bitwise, Proshares, Grayscale, and Valkyrie are among those who have applied. While these ether-related ETFs are still pending SEC approval, reports suggest that the agency may be on the verge of giving the green light.