Ethereum
VanEck waives upfront fees on spot Ethereum ETFs, plans to “offset” DeFi volume
More on-chain activity means more ether gas spent and a higher asset price, says Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck.
VanEck plans to waive fees on its proposed ETH spot ETF through 2025 unless the fund reaches $1.5 billion in assets under management.
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Posted June 26, 2024 at 3:04 am EST.
Investment manager VanEck plans to waive fees on its Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) through 2025, or until the fund reaches $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM), according to an amended S-1. deposit Friday.
“If the Trust’s assets exceed $1.5 billion prior to 2025, the sponsor fee charged on assets above $1.5 billion will be 0.20%,” the filing said.
“After 2025, the sponsorship fee will be 0.20%. »
Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, said ETF.com that the move was aimed at “becoming a leader in crypto-ETF fees” even if the company loses money at first, in the hope that it would encourage investors to explore the role that Ethereum can play in their investment portfolios.
In a job on X, Sigel clarified that “the plan is to catch up on volume; in this case, decentralized finance [DeFi] volume.”
When asked to clarify what he meant by DeFi volume, Sigel explain that greater on-chain activity results in greater consumption of ether gas, which in turn would drive up the price of ether, driving up the “VanEck bags of ether.”
Whether or not this move will lead to more on-chain activity remains to be seen. Nonetheless, VanEck appears to be moving forward and preparing to launch its Ethereum spot ETF.
The company deposit a Form 8-A filed Tuesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is one of the primary forms used to register securities before they are listed on an exchange.
The SEC approved eight spot ether ETF applications, including VanEck’s, earlier this year, and according to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, the disclosure process before their launch is “going smoothly.”
“It’s really about asset managers providing complete disclosure so that these registration statements can be effective,” Gensler said at a conference. Bloomberg Invest Summit in New York on Tuesday.