Grayscale Investments has cut the planned fees of its spot Ethereum ETF by 40%, from an initial 0.25% to 0.15%, according to Blockworks. The move is intended to counter the upcoming battle for the asset.
Grayscale's original planned fees were comparable to those of rivals such as BlackRock and Fidelity, but higher than those of Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Bitwise and 21Shares. Grayscale plans to convert its Ethereum Trust, which manages about $10 billion in assets, into an ETF, keeping the fee at 2.5%. The fee for the Mini Ethereum Trust would be adjusted to 0.15%, making it more competitive.
Scott Johnsson of Van Buren Capital said Grayscale's fee adjustment puts more pressure on companies such as BlackRock. Industry observers believe that fund fees are only one factor in investors' choice of ETFs, and other factors include product liquidity and issuing brands. The U.S. spot ETH fund category is expected to be fiercely competitive, but its market share may only account for a small part of the $16.7 billion net inflow into U.S. spot BTC products so far this year.
