- Ark Investment Management has withdrawn its application for an Ether ETF, maintaining its focus on Bitcoin.
- Cathie Wood highlights the political importance of crypto, linking ETF approvals to election issues.
- Wood emphasises Bitcoin’s superiority over Ether, viewing it as a global monetary system and a new asset class.
The race for Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is heating up. The approval of 19b-4 filings is complete, and the market is now awaiting an S-1 approval, which will allow trading of these funds.
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However, one prominent player, Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management, has just withdrawn its application, stating it is no longer pursuing an Ether ETF.
The fund, previously named Ark 21Shares, will now be administered solely by the Swiss crypto firm 21Shares and renamed 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF.
As for Ethereum, ARK believes in its transformative potential and the long-term value of the Ethereum blockchain but, at this time, ARK will not be moving forward with an Ethereum ETF.
Cathie WoodObservers have speculated why Ark has withdrawn their support, with fees being the most widely agreed upon reason. While no fees have been noted in any of the filings so far, the Bitcoin ETFs have led to a price war, ultimately causing razor thin profit margins.
Wood Says Crypto an Election Issue, Fund Approval Due to Politics
Just days ago, Ark founder and CEO Cathie Wood said the sudden and unexpected ETF approval indicated a shift in crypto’s importance toward an election issue. Speaking during a conference in Austin, Texas, last week, Wood said the expectation was that the ETF was getting denied.
If it were to have been approved the regular way, we would have been getting questions from the SEC. No one was getting questions from the SEC beforehand.”
Cathie WoodShe also highlighted Trump’s recent support for the crypto sector and the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) in the US House. Wood added, Trump’s pivot on crypto had received attention from the White House.
Wood revealed that her commitment to Bitcoin ultimately is far stronger than that toward ETH, saying she would prefer Bitcoin over Ether, “hands down”.
No question about it. It is a global monetary system. It is a technology, and it is a new asset class. Those are three big ideas in one, and nothing else in the crypto world is competing with it.
Cathie Wood
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