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Traders are already positioning for a surge in ether prices on bets that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will give the go-ahead next year for a U.S. ETF that would track the price of ether.
- The successful launch of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF has heightened expectations that similar futures-backed bitcoin products from over 20 other applicants will be approved in the coming weeks and months.
Despite being the world’s most heavily used blockchain, in terms of price, ether has always been the bridesmaid, never the bride.
But that may be set to change as speculation is rife that a U.S. ether ETF may be in the offing.
Traders are already positioning for a surge in ether prices on bets that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will give the go-ahead next year for a U.S. ETF that would track the price of ether, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Options, which allow bets to be placed on future price movements, suggest that traders anticipate ether rising by as high as US$15,000 by March next year.
After the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF saw over US$1 billion in inflows, which saw the fund soak up the futures contracts that it uses to track the price of bitcoin, pushing bitcoin to an all-time-high, investors are now betting the same could happen for ether as soon as next year.
Options contracts which give investors the right but not the obligation to buy ether at US$15,000 next year have seen a surge in interest.
The successful launch of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF has heightened expectations that similar futures-backed bitcoin products from over 20 other applicants will be approved in the coming weeks and months.
Nonetheless, the path to an ether ETF isn’t a given.
Earlier this year, both ProShares and VanEck withdrew applications for a ether ETF, without explaining the reason and thin trading in the futures market for ether could be a stumbling block to approving an ether futures-backed ETF.
But as with so many things in the cryptocurrency space, volumes can change on a dime, and it’s entirely possible for ether futures activity to pick up suddenly, especially as open interest in CME Group’s bitcoin futures rose sharply in the wake of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF launch.
