Moscow Exchange to Launch ETHA-Tracking Ethereum Futures Index Fund

The Moscow Exchange says it will launch a fund that tracks one of the world’s biggest Ethereum ETFs, just weeks after debuting a Bitcoin index futures offering.

The Russian media outlet RBC reported that Maria Patrikeyeva, the Managing Director of the Moscow Exchange Derivatives Market, confirmed the plan, stating that the Ethereum (ETH) fund will debut sometime in August.

Patrikeyeva said the exchange “intends to start trading a futures contract for a fund that invests in Ethereum. She explained:

“The fund’s underlying asset will be the BlackRock-run iShares Ethereum Trust ETF. Its quotation will be equal to the cost of one share of the fund. The contract size will be slightly smaller than [that we use for the] IBIT [the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF].”

The iShares Ethereum Trust ETF trades on the New York-based NASDAQ exchange and launched in July 2024.

The exchange has grown increasingly bullish on crypto this year, launching its first Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract on June 4.

The product is still restricted to qualified investors. It is cash-settled in rubles and tied to the value of BlackRock’s IBIT ETF.

The exchange followed up last month with a claim that a new BTC derivative instrument launch was “imminent.”

It is also waiting for regulatory approval for the planned launch of mutual funds and structured bonds that focus on cryptoasset indices.

Patrikeyeva added that the exchange would launch more futures products next month.

Another product will track American investment funds that invest in US government bonds, Patrikeyeva explained.

She said that the underlying asset for this futures contract will be the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT).

This will be the first future contract on the Moscow Exchange to track the dynamics of US debt securities.

Patrikeyeva confirmed that MOEX is also set to debut futures offerings for shares in the Chinese tech giants Tencent and Xiaomi this week.

Both Tencent and Xiaomi currently trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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