WisdomTree, an asset management business, has formally withdrew its application for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This judgment comes more than three years after the original proposal, which sought to list a spot Ether ETF on the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE).
WisdomTree acknowledged in a September 6 filing that it did not sell any securities under the original registration statement. Although the firm will not receive a refund for the application expenses, it has asked the SEC to apply the amounts to future filings.
The original proposal, submitted in May 2021, was based on WisdomTree’s belief that the Ether market had matured to the point where it was as efficient and scalable as Bitcoin.
The same day, asset management VanEck announced the closure of its futures-based Ethereum ETF owing to insufficient investor interest, citing performance and liquidity issues. VanEck’s Ethereum Strategy ETF will suspend trading on September 16 and liquidate its assets before delivering them to investors on September 23.
