BlackRock Ethereum ETF Is Bearish Says Blockstream CEO Adam Back

The news about BlackRock Ethereum ETF filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not seem pleasing to Blockstream CEO Adam Back as he took to the X app to declare that the move is bearish and impacts BlackRock’s credibility.

Criticism of BlackRock Ethereum ETF

On Thursday, the BlackRock Ethereum ETF filing with the SEC was officially announced. The move underscores the recent adoption and integration of crypto with the traditional financial ecosystem. Also, it suggests an applaud-worthy evolution in crypto which impacts the general market dynamics and investor sentiment.

Rather than accolades, the BlackRock Ethereum ETF which marks a significant milestone for the multi-trillion dollar asset manager has attracted criticism instead. Back compared the underlying cryptocurrency of BlackRock’s new endeavor and other altcoins to “scammers clawing at the gate like a horde of zombies.”

It is worth noting that the new BlackRock critic Adam is a known Bitcoin maximalist and his criticism may have stemmed from a place of prejudice that the investment asset manager is deviating its focus on the flagship cryptocurrency. 

The BlackRock iShares Ethereum Trust

Prior to this official lodging with the SEC, the top asset management firm had earlier registered its interest for its first Ethereum spot ETF product dubbed iShares Ethereum Trust, in Delaware with the Department of State Division of Corporations. Its latest filing for the BlackRock Ethereum ETF with the SEC is one of the two-step processes involved when applying a spot ETF product. 

The filing which is for Form S-1 stated that the iShares Ethereum Trust aims to “reflect generally the performance of the price of Ether.” The appointed custodian for the Trust is Coinbase Custody Trust Company while the proposed ETF benchmark is CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate from administrator CF Benchmarks, a subsidiary of Kraken.

Noteworthy, all of these selections are in sync with those made for its spot Bitcoin ETF application which was made earlier in June. BlackRock’s latest move confirms that the asset management firm is not interested in Bitcoin alone but is also willing to explore other cryptocurrencies. However, BlackRock has clarified that it is not associated with the controversial iShares XRP ETF that got the crypto market buzzing recently.