BlackRock to Launch Ethereum ETF on Brazilian Stock Exchange Under ETHA39 Ticker

Highlights:

• BlackRock will launch its Ethereum ETF (ETHA39) on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange on August 28.
• ETHA39 will trade between R$40 and R$50 and has a reduced management fee of 0.12% for its first year.
• Brazil has approved Solana ETFs from QR Asset and Hashdex, but BlackRock is not pursuing a Solana ETF at this time.

Asset manager BlackRock will launch its Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Brazil’s B3 stock exchange on August 28, according to local media outlet Portal do Bitcoin. The ETF will trade under the ticker code ETHA39 as a Brazilian depositary receipt (BDR), a certificate that represents shares of foreign firms traded in Brazil.

Potential investors should note that BDRs are taxed similarly to Brazilian stocks and provide no tax benefits for transactions under $20,000 per month. This is crucial for those considering ETHA39 for their investment strategies.

BlackRock will list its iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) on the Brazilian B3 exchange on Wednesday. The ETF will trade in the form of Brazilian depositary receipts (BDRs) under the ticker ETHA39. In March this year, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) began trading on the…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) August 28, 2024

The new ETF will offer Brazilian investors exposure to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Depending on the ETF’s performance, ETHA39 in Brazil is expected to trade between R$40 and R$50. Meanwhile, the firm is waiving the management fee for ETHA39 in the first year, lowering it from the standard 0.25% to 0.12% for assets up to $2.5 billion. 

BlackRock launched the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) in March, highlighting a growing market for institutional cryptocurrency products in Brazil. Dubbed IBIT39, the Bitcoin product began trading with a reduced fee of 0.12% for the first year. 

Cristiano Castro, director of BlackRock in Brazil, said the launch would “simplify” access to the asset. He added, “ETH has the potential to support a wide and diverse range of blockchain applications.”

High Demand for Crypto ETFs

The launch of ETHA39 highlights the increasing demand for cryptocurrency investment products in Brazil. Nicolas Gomez, head of ETFs and index investments for Latin America, noted “robust demand” for the Bitcoin ETF BDR, prompting the company to add ETH to its offerings.

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust in the US has rapidly grown, exceeding $1 billion in cumulative net inflows as of August 2024. This makes it the first US spot Ethereum ETF to achieve this milestone, according to Farside Investors’ data. The main driver of this surge was the IBIT ETF, attracting $224.1 million in inflows. BlackRock’s ETH ETF looks set to usher in a new era on the Brazilian exchange.

Brazil Approves Solana ETFs, BlackRock Remains Uninterested

Solana has gained traction in Brazil with recent ETF approvals. In August, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) approved two Solana-based ETFs from asset managers QR Asset and Hashdex, according to the Commission’s central database.

🚨BREAKING: 🇧🇷Brazil Approves Second $SOL ETF!

Approval: Brazil's Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has approved a second Solana ETF.

Launch Partners: The ETF will be launched by Brazil-based asset manager Hashdex, with over $962 million AUM, in partnership with local… pic.twitter.com/VslXc1eDuA

— Kyle Chassé (@kyle_chasse) August 21, 2024

Meanwhile, BlackRock is not planning to file for a Solana ETF soon. Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s CIO of ETF and index investments, told Bloomberg that the firm is evaluating the “investability” to determine what meets their criteria for an ETF.

Further, Cohen added:

“For us, right now, both between investability considerations and also what we hear from our clients, Bitcoin and ETH definitely meet that bar. I think it will be a while before we see anything else.”