BlackRock Sets 0.25% Fee for Spot Ethereum ETF Ahead of Potential Launch
Asset management giant BlackRock has announced a 0.25% fee for its upcoming spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is expected to launch next week. According to BlackRock's S-1 registration statement filed on July 17, the fee will be accrued daily at an annualized rate of 0.25% of the fund’s net asset value and will be payable at least every three months, either in US dollars, in-kind, or a combination of both.
BlackRock has also indicated that it may waive all or part of the fee for certain periods, with plans to implement such a waiver upon the ETF's launch. Similar to the launch of the iShares Bitcoin Trust, the spot Ether ETF will initially trade at a reduced fee of 0.12% until it either reaches 12 months in operation or amasses $2.5 billion in net assets, whichever comes first.
Other asset managers have also disclosed their proposed fees and waiver periods amid a surge of amended S-1 registration forms. Franklin Templeton’s spot Ether ETF will charge the lowest fee at 0.19%, while Bitwise and VanEck have set their fees at 0.20%. The 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF will charge 0.21%, and Fidelity and Invesco Galaxy will match BlackRock's fee of 0.25%.
Notably, five issuers, Bitwise, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, 21Shares, and VanEck, plan to waive their fees initially. VanEck's fee will be waived for the first 12 months or until it reaches $1.5 billion in net assets, whichever comes first. Bitwise will waive its fee for the first six months or until it accumulates $0.5 billion in net assets. Franklin Templeton has set a waiver period until January 31, 2025, or until it reaches a $10 billion threshold. Fidelity will waive fees until January 1, 2025, after which the fee will increase to 0.25%.
Meanwhile, Grayscale has set a fee of 2.5% for its spot Ether ETF. However, its newly approved Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust will offer a more competitive fee of 0.25%. Grayscale also announced that 10% of its spot Ethereum ETF will establish the Ethereum Mini Trust, providing $1 billion in seed funding.
