The new ether ETFs are from Purpose Investments and CI Global.

CI Global Asset Management announced Friday that its CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF had been cleared by the Canadian Securities regulators and that the ETF is likely to start trading on the TSX on April 20. On the same day, Purpose Investments Inc said it had received the regulator’s go-ahead for the Purpose Ether ETF which will invest in physical Ether tokens.

CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF

Described as “the world’s first Ether ETF with the lowest management fee of any Ether ETF globally at 0.40%,” the CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF (ETHX) will invest in Ether, the cryptocurrency built on the Ethereum blockchain. Its holdings will be valued using the Bloomberg Galaxy Ethereum Index, which is designed to measure the performance of a single Ether traded in U.S. dollars.

“We’re excited to offer investors the ability to invest directly in Ether, the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization, and to benefit from the growth of the Ethereum blockchain and the many applications this platform supports,” said Kurt MacAlpine, Chief Executive Officer of CI Financial, the parent company of CI GAM.

Purpose Ether ETF

The Purpose Ether ETF will be the first in the world to invest directly in physically settled Ether. Similar to the Purpose Bitcoin ETF and other physically-backed gold or silver products, the ETF will always be backed directly by physically settled Ether holdings. As a result, investors do not need to take the risk of holding Ether on their own in a digital wallet.

The ETF’s Ether holdings will be stowed in cold storage in a secure custody solution. The ETF will track the TradeBlock ETX Index.

“While Bitcoin tends to get a lot of attention as it was the first major cryptocurrency, what Ether and the Ethereum ecosystem represent is one of the most exciting new technology visions today in society,” said Som Seif, founder and CEO of Purpose Investments. “By launching the first ETF in the world that directly owns and provides exposure to Ether, we are enabling every investor to have access to this unique opportunity and ecosystem.”

Purpose launched its Bitcoin ETF, the first in the world, in February. The fund held C$1.43 billion in assets as of April 16, 2021, and is an example of a highly successful ETF launch.

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