BlackRock woos investors for ethereum trust to further crypto push

(Reuters) - Asset management giant BlackRock on Thursday began courting public investors for an ethereum trust, doubling down on its cryptocurrency bets amid potentially easing regulations over such investment vehicles.

The iShares Ethereum Trust, which was registered last week, will give investors access to ether - the second most popular cryptocurrency - without directly owning it.

The trust will be a "spot" investment vehicle, which means it will own ether instead of futures products tied to the cryptocurrency.

While futures-based crypto funds have previously been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator has long contended that the spot crypto market is prone to fraud and manipulation.

But in August, a federal appeals court ruled that the SEC was wrong to reject an application from digital asset manager Grayscale Investments to create a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The landmark victory for Grayscale has prompted a wave of filing for spot investment vehicles in recent months, helping restore some faith in the crypto industry that was shaken by several high-profile collapses last year.

BlackRock dipped its toes in the crypto space with its filing for a spot bitcoin ETF in June. Its latest filing indicates that the Wall Street behemoth is aiming to move beyond bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency.

The company will be vying with crypto natives such as Grayscale for market share.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)