iShares Ethereum Trust Launches on the Brazilian B3 Exchange

Key Points:

• BlackRock is listing its iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) on Brazil’s B3 exchange under the ticker ETHA39.
• The launch follows the successful introduction of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) earlier this year.

BlackRock is listing its iShares Ethereum Trust, ETHA, on Brazil’s B3 Stock Exchange under the ticker ETHA39 on Wednesday, CoinDesk first reported the news.

Read more: State of Wisconsin Investment Board Continues to Increase Holdings of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF

BlackRock Lists iShares Ethereum Trust on Brazil’s B3 Exchange

iShares Ethereum Trust will be listed as Brazilian depositary receipts or BDRs, shares of foreign companies traded locally. Each unit of ETHA39 will be priced in a range of R$40 to R$50, the prospectus said. BlackRock will try to allure investors by waiving the management fee for ETHA39 during the first year from 0.25% to 0.12% on assets of as much as US$2.5 billion.

Nicolas Gomez, Black­Rock’s head of ETFs, Index Investments, and Products for Latin America, said the launch from iShares Ethereum Trust allows investors in Brazil exposure to the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization: Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Earlier this year, BlackRock launched its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, IBIT, on the very same Brazilian exchange, which witnessed huge investor demand. This “strong demand” for the investment alternatives, says Gomez, is what is driving the firm to expand the number of cryptocurrency alternatives with Ethereum.

Fee Waiver Introduced as ETHA39 Debuts Amid Strong U.S. Performance

The listing of ETHA39 is a representation of the increasing appetite for cryptocurrency investments in Brazil. Recently, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission considered two more Solna-based ETFs to be traded on B3, furthering the range of crypto-related investment products available within the country.

While BDRs are subject to the same taxation as domestic shares, they don’t allow for tax exemptions on transactions of less than R$20,000 per month, a point to be factored in by investors when administering their portfolios.

Launched little over a month ago, BlackRock’s ETHA tops $1 bln in cumulative net inflows in the United States.