Nasdaq Pushes Ether Swaps for Ethereum Trust Shares in SEC Review
Published Date: 7/14/2025
Notice
Summary
The Nasdaq Stock Market wants to change the rules for the iShares Ethereum Trust so investors can trade shares by swapping actual Ethereum instead of cash. They’re also adding a new Ethereum custodian and updating the Trust’s name. This change could make trading smoother and might affect how quickly shares are created or redeemed, with the SEC taking more time to review the update.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 3 mixed.
In‑Kind Ether Creations and Redemptions
The iShares Ethereum Trust would be allowed to create and redeem Baskets of 40,000 Shares (or multiples) using actual ether instead of only cash. Authorized Participants may submit in‑kind orders by the In‑Kind Order Cutoff Time (initially 3:59 p.m. ET on trade date) and will deliver or receive ether into the Trust's Trading Account on settlement date.
Use of Trade Credits from Coinbase Credit, Inc.
The Trust may borrow Trade Credits (cash or ether) from Coinbase Credit, Inc. (an affiliate of the Prime Execution Agent) under a Trade Financing Agreement to permit the Trust to buy or sell ether on trade date and then repay the Trade Credits on settlement date when cash or ether is received.
Order Cutoff Times for Cash vs. In‑Kind
The Trust will use different order cutoff times: cash creation/redemption orders must be submitted by the Cash Order Cutoff Time (initially 6:00 p.m. ET on the business day prior to trade date), while in‑kind creation/redemption orders must be submitted by the In‑Kind Order Cutoff Time (initially 3:59 p.m. ET on the trade date).
Basket Size Requirement Remains 40,000 Shares
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in blocks of 40,000 Shares (a "Basket") or integral multiples thereof; Baskets are issued or redeemed in exchange for ether and/or cash determined by the Trustee each trading day.
Price‑Difference Responsibility for Authorized Participants
For cash creations/redemptions and certain in‑kind fallback scenarios, the Authorized Participant is explicitly responsible for the dollar cost if the price realized in buying or selling ether is worse than the ether price used to calculate NAV on trade date; conversely, the Authorized Participant keeps the dollar benefit if the realized price is more favorable than the NAV price.
Additional Ether Custodian and Cold‑Storage Keys
The proposal adds an additional ether custodian for the Trust and states that the Ether Custodian will keep all private keys for the Trust's ether held in the Custody Account in cold storage (offline), noting that those systems may not be cost‑effective for many investors to access directly.
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