Volatility Shares, a prominent financial firm offering a variety of exchange-traded fund (ETF) products, has decided to cancel its highly-anticipated launch of an Ethereum futures ETF originally scheduled for October 2nd. The firm’s co-founder and president, Justin Young, confirmed the cancellation, attributing it to shifts in the market.
In an email interview, Young acknowledged the cancellation and stated, “Yes, we did not launch today. As we didn’t see the opportunity at this point in time.” However, when asked about the possibility of future plans for an Ethereum futures ETF, Young responded with confidence, saying, “Yes company will launch,” and added that “plans are TBD.”
An Ethereum futures ETF is designed to track the prices of Ethereum futures contracts, which are agreements to trade ETH at a specific time and price in the future. Essentially, it allows investors to participate in ETH trading without the need to hold actual Ethereum tokens.
Volatility Shares had been poised to become the first company to offer an Ethereum futures ETF. Originally, October 12th was the anticipated date for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the first ETH futures ETF. However, concerns regarding the looming U.S. government shutdown, initially scheduled for October 1st, reportedly prompted the SEC to expedite the approval timeline.
As of October 2nd, several other firms have already initiated trading Ethereum futures ETFs, including Valkyrie, VanEck, ProShares, and Bitwise.
Pretty meh volume for the Ether Futures ETFs as a group, a little under $2m, about normal for a new ETF but vs $BITO (which did $200m in first 15min) it is low. Tight race bt VanEck and ProShares in the single eth lane. pic.twitter.com/F9AHtrVcVf
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 2, 2023
“Bills related to digital assets, whether for their advancement or regulation, would have been halted in the event of a government shutdown. Financial regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), would have been operating with minimal staffing.”
In an unexpected twist, the U.S. government managed to avoid the shutdown by passing a stopgap funding measure, ensuring government services would remain operational until November 17th. This measure was swiftly approved by the Senate in an 88-9 vote and signed into law by President Joe Biden.
The decision by Volatility Shares to delay their Ethereum futures ETF launch reflects the dynamic and evolving nature of the cryptocurrency market. While the firm may have postponed its plans for now, the future remains uncertain, and the cryptocurrency community eagerly awaits further developments in the rapidly changing landscape.
The post Volatility Shares cancels Ethereum Futures ETF launch due to market changes appeared first on Todayq News.