Asset management firm Franklin Templeton has launched an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) called the “Franklin Ethereum TR Ethereum ETF” with the ticker EZET.
The spot Ethereum ETF has been listed on the website of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, an important U.S. securities trading platform.
The listing on the DTCC’s “Create/Redemption” column indicates that the ETF is now available for creation and redemption, marking a significant step in its operational deployment.
The listing does not imply approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is still awaiting approval.
Listing on the DTCC website means that the ETF has completed certain registration or compliance processes, making it eligible to be traded and settled within the DTCC system.
Franklin Templeton filed Form S-1 with the SEC in February seeking to launch a spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF. If approved, it would trade on the Chicago Board Options Exchange as the “Franklin Ethereum ETF.”
However, in its most recent update in April this year, the SEC announced that it would delay its decision on the application, extending the review period by another 45 days to June 11.
Industry heavyweights including BlackRock, Grayscale, VanEck and ARK Invest are also contenders for a piece of the Ether ETF pie.
However, the prospects for these Ethereum-based ETFs to receive SEC approval appear different than the prospects for the spot Bitcoin ETF that received approval in January.
In March, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas assessed the probability of a spot ether ETF being approved in May at about 35%. He noted that the SEC’s approach was less proactive compared to the bitcoin ETF application.
Balchunas also mentioned that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s views on ether and his reluctance to explicitly define it as a security could affect the final outcome.
