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Ether Machine to launch via SPAC deal with $1.5 billion backing and 400,000 ethereum

A newly formed public company, The Ether Machine, created via a blank-check company merger with Dynamix Corporation, will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ETHM.” The deal is “expected to deliver over $1.6 billion of gross proceeds, including over $1.5 billion of fully committed financing.” It aims to launch with 400,000 Ethereum “in a public vehicle for pure-play institutional-grade exposure to Ethereum and ETH-denominated yield,” according to a press release


Shares of Dynamix were up more than 28% in early trading Monday. Meanwhile, ethereum, the second-largest crypto by market cap, is on a roll, up 25% in the past week, thanks partly to the passage of the GENIUS Act. The act provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins, most of which are on the ethereum blockchain. 

“The Ether Machine provides secure, liquid access to Ether — the digital oil that is powering the next era of the digital economy,” Andrew Keys, cofounder and chairman of The Ether Machine, said in the release.

Keys, a Consensys cofounder, contributed $645 million (representing 169,984 ethereum), while institutional and strategic investors, including Blockchain.com, Kraken, and Pantera Capital, contributed more than $800 million. 

The Ether Machine is the latest entry to a growing trend of companies choosing to build digital asset reserves based on ethereum, including SharpLink Gaming, BitMine, and BTCS.

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$1.2B

XRP ETFs have now crossed $1 billion in assets since the funds launched, according to SoSoValue, which shows total assets of $1.18 billion.

In September, the SEC approved generic listing standards, which paved the way for speedier listings and opened the floodgates for these products, and shortly after, Rex-Osprey launched the first spot XRP ETF available in the US.

Canary followed suit in November, launching an ETF trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker XRPC, which saw a record $58.5 million in trading volume on its first day. It’s the largest XRP ETF in the US, with $342 million in assets.

Grayscale, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton also launched their own XRP ETFs in November. On December 11, 21Shares joined the XRP fund party.

It’s a noteworthy green shoot in the crypto space, as bitcoin and its ETFs have struggled, and XRP itself is down nearly 15% over the past month.

Jake Hanley, managing director and senior portfolio specialist at Teucrium Investment Advisors — which launched the first-ever XRP-based ETF in April, the 2x Long Daily XRP ETF — told Sherwood News that he is not surprised to see this level of interest in the XRP ETFs.

“We have long held that XRP and the Ripple ecosystem present a unique investment case among crypto assets. Crossing the $1 billion mark is yet another signal of the significant vote of confidence investors have in this increasingly important asset and ecosystem,” Hanley said.

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New bitcoin AfterDark ETF will be bitcoin at night, Treasurys by day

Tidal Trust II submitted form N-1A with the SEC to register a bitcoin ETF designed to systemically capture the cryptocurrency’s overnight return profile, a time window that delivered a significant portion of bitcoin’s upside last year.

The Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF provides long bitcoin exposure during US overnight hours, from the closing bell until the following morning’s market open, when the fund intends to unwind its positions, according to a document filed with the SEC on Tuesday. 

To gain that exposure, the ETF may use a number of methods, including bitcoin futures contracts, US-listed ETFs, or exchange-traded options on such bitcoin underlying funds. When the market is open and daytime trading is active, the fund’s portfolio will consist of US Treasury securities and other cash equivalents. 

In 2024, most of bitcoin’s gains occurred after-hours, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported:

The AfterDark ETF filing comes as bitcoin crossed $94,000 on Tuesday, rising 4.5% in the last 24 hours. Even though spot bitcoin ETFs saw nearly $60.5 million in outflows on Monday, the investment vehicles have a cumulative net inflow of $57.6 billion, per SoSoValue.

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