BlackRock amended its S-1 registration statement for a spot Ethereum ETF in a May 29 filing, marking a step toward approval .
The document is based on BlackRock's original registration statement filed in November 2023.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said the filing is a step toward launch after the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) approved the 19b-4 listing rule changes on May 23.
Seyffart reiterated that he believes the S-1 statement could be approved in the coming weeks, facilitating the launch of a spot Ethereum ETF, but he also acknowledged that "normally it would take several months."
The S-1 filing fills in several placeholder fields, including details of the seed funding .
The fund received $10 million in proceeds from the purchase of 400,000 shares of seed capital at $25 per share through BlackRock Financial Management, according to the filing.
The iShares Delaware Trust sponsor can collect up to $500,000 in fees annually, and the latest filing does not include the sponsor's fee calculated as a percentage.
The trust fund will issue and redeem shares in units of 40,000 shares, and the fund code is ETHA.
Wilmington Trust National Association will serve as Delaware trustee and Bank of New York Mellon will serve as trust administrator and cash custodian.
The new S-1 also reintroduces the possibility of physical creation and redemption , which will allow crypto assets to be traded between authorized participants instead of cash.
The fund acknowledged that approval for in-kind transactions is not guaranteed and the timing is uncertain. BlackRock's initial S-1 statement mentioned the possibility of in-kind creations and redemptions in passing.
However, Nasdaq's revised notice of filing of 19b-4 in April stated that authorized participants will rely solely on cash when creating and redeeming fund shares.
The latest S-1 also explicitly states that BlackRock will not participate in the ETH private placement , which is consistent with the second 19b-4 amendment issued by Nasdaq on behalf of BlackRock on May 22.
Currently, all other Ethereum ETF issuers have also removed the possibility of spotting from their applications.
