VanEck files for an Ethereum futures ETF as crypto fund applications pile up at the SEC

• VanEck filed for an Ethereum futures-based ETF with the SEC on Wednesday.
• The fund will not invest directly in ether, but invest in ether futures contracts and other pooled invested vehicles that provide exposure to the coin.
• The Ethereum Strategy ETF is VanEck's latest pitch to the SEC for approval of a crypto-related product.

Investment firm VanEck filed for an Ethereum futures-based exchange traded fund with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

According to the filing, the Ethereum Strategy ETF will invest in ether futures contracts, as well as pooled investment vehicles and exchange-traded products like Canadian ETFs that invest directly in ether. The fund itself will not invest in ether or own other digital assets directly.

That distinction could help fast-track the fund to winning approval from the SEC. The SEC's Gary Gensler has suggested that he may be open to an ETF based exclusively on bitcoin futures. The regulator has yet to approve a fund that directly invests in a cryptocurrency like ether or bitcoin.

The Ethereum Strategy ETF is VanEck's latest bid to the SEC for a crypto-related product. The investment firm has filed an application for an ETF to invest directly in ether, though the fate of that product also remains undecided.

Currently, the SEC is sitting on over a dozen crypto-focused ETF applications.

VanEck's Ethereum futures ETF would be the first of its kind in the US, according to Decrypt.co.