ARK & 21Shares File Ethereum Spot ETF
The fund would invest directly in ETH and custody funds with Coinbase Custody. The ETFs would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
Quick Take
- ARK 21Shares Ethereum Spot ETF filed.
- Vitalik Buterin co-authors a privacy paper.
- EF announces ERC-4337 grant recipients.
- Synthetix explores a multi-chain approach.
Listen on: Apple | Castbox | Spotify | YouTube | Lens
Vitalik Co-Authors A Privacy Paper
Vitalik Buterin, Jacob Illum, Matthias Nadler, Fabian Schär, and Ameen Soleimani co-authored a new research paper titled "Blockchain Privacy and Regulatory Compliance: Towards a Practical Equilibrium." The paper introduces a method for users to securely disassociate from illicit funds within a privacy pool, aiming to serve as a neutral resource for blockchain regulatory compliance globally.
Privacy Pools, coined as the successor to Tornado Cash, is an open-source smart-contract-based privacy tool. It employs zero-knowledge proofs to ensure that deposit and withdrawal addresses remain unlinked. The tool offers customizable privacy sets, enabling users to dissociate themselves from illicit addresses during withdrawals.
This mechanism enhances privacy protection against malicious actors and allows users to demonstrate that their funds originate from legitimate deposits without having to disclose their entire transaction history.
ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF
ARK Invest and 21Shares jointly filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Ethereum Exchange-Traded-Fund (ETF). Coined as the “ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF,” the fund would invest directly in ETH and custody funds with Coinbase. The ETFs would also trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
If approved, it would mark the first crypto spot ETF in the U.S. The application comes after a U.S. district court sided with Grayscale in a petition to review an application to convert GBTC into a spot ETF. ARK Invest is an investment management firm and 21Shares is a provider of crypto exchange-traded products.
Synthetix Explores A Multi-Chain Approach
In a new blog post, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick discussed the feasibility and necessity of deploying the derivatives protocol across multiple blockchains, starting with an experimental deployment on Base. Synthetix is currently live on Ethereum and OP Mainnet. Warwick also discussed the launch of a Synthetix appchain built on the OP Stack.
Liquidity fragmentation remains a top barrier for multi-chain deployments. Warwick suggested an initial deployment on Base to experiment with demand for ETH collateral, rather than the protocol’s native SNX token. Warwick emphasized adaptability and the need to gather data before any significant changes are made to the protocol.
ERC-4337 AA Grant Recipients
The Ethereum Foundation announced the winners of its Account Abstraction grants program. A total of $300,000 was allocated to 18 grant recipients, which include Ambire Wallet, ZeroDev, Etherspot, MynaWallet, and Sixdegree Lab. The program awarded builders who improve and strengthen Account Abstraction infrastructure on Ethereum