As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 23, 2024

Registration No. 333-     

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Grayscale Ethereum Trust

(ETH)

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Delaware		c/o Grayscale Investments, LLC		82-6677805
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)		290 Harbor Drive, 4th Floor Stamford, Connecticut 06902 (212) 668-1427		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

Michael Sonnenshein

Chief Executive Officer

Grayscale Investments, LLC

290 Harbor Drive, 4th Floor Stamford,

Connecticut 06902

(212) 668-1427

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

 

 

Copy to:

Joseph A. Hall

Dan Gibbons

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

450 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10017

(212) 450-4000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer		☒		Accelerated filer		☐
Non-accelerated filer		☐		Smaller reporting company		☐
				Emerging growth company		☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the Registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

On October 2, 2023, NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to list the Shares of Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH) (the “Trust”) on NYSE Arca. In addition, the Trust intends to rely on an exemption or other relief from the SEC under 17 CFR §§ 242.101 and 102 (“Regulation M”) to operate a redemption program.

As of the date of this filing, the NYSE Arca 19b-4 application has not been approved by the SEC and an exemption or other relief from Regulation M is not available. The Trust makes no representation as to when or if such approval will be obtained and when such an exemption or relief will be available. The Trust will not seek effectiveness of this registration statement and no offering of Shares hereunder will take place unless and until such approval is obtained and such an exemption or relief is available.

This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that the NYSE Arca 19b-4 application has been approved by the SEC and that the Trust is able to rely on an exemption or has obtained other relief under Regulation M.

In addition, prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, Grayscale Investments, LLC, the sponsor (the “Sponsor”) of the Trust, intends to solicit the consent of the shareholders of the Trust (the “Consent Solicitation”) to approve certain proposals to amend the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement between the Sponsor and Delaware Trust Company, the trustee (the “Trustee”) of the Trust, which amendments have been described in the Trust’s Consent Solicitation Statement included in its preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A, initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 19, 2024, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the preliminary proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed on April 19, 2024, among other amendments. The Trust intends to file a definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A to commence the Consent Solicitation, and following the expiration of the Consent Solicitation and prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, the Sponsor expects to enter into the Second Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (the “Amended Trust Agreement”) with the Trustee, implementing such amendments. This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that the Amended Trust Agreement has been entered into by the Sponsor and the Trustee.

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED APRIL 23, 2024

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

 

GRAYSCALE ETHEREUM TRUST (ETH)

Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH) (the “Trust”) is a Delaware statutory trust that issues common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest (“Shares”), which represent ownership in the Trust. The Trust’s purpose is to hold “Ether”, which are digital assets that are created and transmitted through the operations of the peer-to-peer Ethereum Network, a decentralized network of computers that operates on cryptographic protocols. The Trust’s investment objective is for the value of the Shares (based on Ether per Share) to reflect the value of Ether held by the Trust, as determined by reference to the Index Price (as defined herein), less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities. While an investment in the Shares is not a direct investment in Ether, the Shares are designed to provide investors with a cost-effective and convenient way to gain investment exposure to Ether. Grayscale Investments, LLC is the sponsor of the Trust (the “Sponsor”), Delaware Trust Company is the trustee of the Trust (the “Trustee”), The Bank of New York Mellon is the transfer agent of the Trust (in such capacity, the “Transfer Agent”) and the administrator of the Trust (in such capacity, the “Administrator”), Coinbase, Inc. is the prime broker of the Trust (the “Prime Broker”) and Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC is the custodian of the Trust (the “Custodian”).

The Trust intends to list the shares on NYSE Arca, Inc. (“NYSE Arca”) under the symbol “ETHE.” It is expected that the Shares will be sold to the public at varying prices to be determined by reference to, among other considerations, the price of Ether and the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of each sale.

The Shares may be purchased from the Trust only in one or more blocks of 10,000 Shares (a block of 10,000 Shares is called a “Basket”). The Trust issues Baskets of Shares to certain authorized participants (“Authorized Participants”) on an ongoing basis as described in “Plan of Distribution.” In addition, the Trust redeems Shares in Baskets on an ongoing basis from Authorized Participants. The Trust is currently able to accept Cash Orders (as defined herein), pursuant to which an Authorized Participant will deposit cash into, or accept cash from, the Cash Account in connection with the creation and redemption of Baskets, and a third party (a “Liquidity Provider”) that is not an agent of, or otherwise acting on behalf of, such Authorized Participant will obtain or receive Ether in exchange for cash in connection with such order. However, and in common with other spot digital asset exchange-traded products, the Trust is not at this time able to create and redeem shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants, and there has yet to be definitive regulatory guidance on whether and how registered broker-dealers can hold and deal in Ether in compliance with the federal securities laws. To the extent further regulatory clarity emerges, the Sponsor expects NYSE Arca to seek the necessary regulatory approval to amend its listing rules to permit the Trust to do so (the “In-Kind Regulatory Approval”). Subject to NYSE Arca seeking and obtaining In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future the Trust may also create and redeem Shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants or their designees (any such designee, an “AP Designee”) in exchange for Ether. There can be no assurance as to when such regulatory clarity will emerge, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain such regulatory approval, if at all. See “Description of Creation and Redemption of Shares.” Some of the activities of the Authorized Participants will result in their being deemed participants in a distribution in a manner which would render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus-delivery and liability provisions under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). See “Plan of Distribution.” As of April 19, 2024, the number of Ether required to create a Basket of Shares is approximately 94.804817 Ether.

Investing in the Shares involves significant risks. You should carefully consider the risk factors described beginning on page 23 in this prospectus, in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” beginning on page 47 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the other documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein before you invest in the Shares.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of the securities offered in this prospectus, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The Shares are neither interests in nor obligations of the Sponsor or the Trustee.

The U.S. dollar value of a Basket of Shares at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date of a creation or redemption order is equal to the “Basket Amount”, which is the number of Ether required to create or redeem a Basket of Shares, multiplied by the “Index Price,” which is the U.S. dollar value of an Ether derived from the Digital Asset Trading Platforms (as defined herein) that are reflected in the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX) (the “Index”), calculated at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day. The Index Price is calculated using non-GAAP methodology and is not used in the Trust’s financial statements.

The date of this prospectus is     , 2024.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

		Page
Forward-Looking Statements			ii
Prospectus Summary			1
The Offering			8
Risk Factors			23
Use of Proceeds			36
Description of the Shares			37
Description of Creation and Redemption of Shares			44
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences			51
ERISA and Related Considerations			58
Plan of Distribution			60
Legal Matters			62
Experts			62
Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation of Certain Information By Reference			62
Glossary of Defined Terms			64

 

 

Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor has authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Trust. Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor takes any responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any information that others may give you. Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is making an offer to sell any security or soliciting any offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus or any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the respective dates on the front of such documents. The Trust’s business, assets, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell, or an invitation on behalf of the Trust or the Sponsor, to subscribe to or purchase any securities, and may not be used for or in connection with an offer or solicitation by anyone, in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation.

Authorized Participants may be required to deliver a prospectus when making transactions in the Shares. This prospectus summarizes certain documents and other information in a manner the Sponsor believes to be accurate. In making an investment decision, you must rely on your own examination of the Trust, the Ethereum industry, the operation of the Ethereum market and the terms of the offering and the Shares, including the merits and risks involved. Although the Sponsor believes this information to be reliable, the accuracy and completeness of this information is not guaranteed and has not been independently verified.

See “Glossary of Defined Terms” for the definition of certain capitalized terms used in this prospectus.

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain “forward-looking statements” with respect to the Trust’s financial conditions, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. Statements preceded by, followed by or that include words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other similar expressions are intended to identify some of the forward-looking statements. All statements (other than statements of historical fact) included in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus that address activities, events or developments that will or may occur in the future, including such matters as changes in market prices and conditions, the Trust’s operations, the Sponsor’s plans and references to the Trust’s future success and other similar matters are forward-looking statements. These statements are only predictions. Actual events or results may differ materially from such statements. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses the Sponsor made based on its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors appropriate in the circumstances. You should specifically consider the numerous risks described in this prospectus, in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Annual Report”), in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the other documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein. Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions, however, is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including:

 

•

recent developments in the digital asset economy which have led to extreme volatility and disruption in digital asset markets, a loss of confidence in participants of the digital asset ecosystem, significant negative publicity surrounding digital assets broadly and market-wide declines in liquidity;

 

•

the extreme volatility of trading prices that many digital assets, including Ether, have experienced in recent periods and may continue to experience, which could cause the value of the Shares to be volatile and/or have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares;

 

•

the recentness of the development of digital assets and the uncertain medium-to-long term value of the Shares due to a number of factors relating to the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies and to the fundamental investment characteristics of digital assets;

 

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the value of the Shares depending on the acceptance of digital assets, such as Ether, which represent a new and rapidly evolving industry;

 

•

a temporary or permanent “fork” or a “clone”, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares;

 

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the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of Digital Asset Trading Platforms, which may adversely affect the value of digital assets and, consequently, the value of the Shares;

 

•

the value of the Shares relating directly to the value of Ether then held by the Trust, the value of which may be highly volatile and subject to fluctuations due to a number of factors;

 

•

the limited history of the Index;

 

•

competition from the emergence or growth of other digital assets or methods of investing in Ether could have a negative impact on the price of Ether and adversely affect the value of the Shares;

 

•

the liquidity of the Shares may be affected if Authorized Participants cease to perform their obligations under the Participant Agreements or the Liquidity Engager is unable to engage Liquidity Providers;

 

•

the commencement of a redemption program, in conjunction with the listing of the Shares on the NYSE Arca, may impact whether the Shares trade at a discount or premium to the NAV per Share;

 

•

any suspension or other unavailability of the Trust’s redemption program may cause the Shares to trade at a discount to the NAV per Share;

 

•

the possibility that the Shares may trade at a price that is at, above or below the Trust’s NAV per Share as a result of the non-current trading hours between NYSE Arca and the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market;

 

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a determination that Ether or any other digital asset is a “security” may adversely affect the value of Ether and the value of the Shares and result in potentially extraordinary, nonrecurring expenses to, or termination of, the Trust;

 

•

regulatory changes or actions by the U.S. Congress or any U.S. federal or state agencies that may affect the value of the Shares or restrict the use of one or more digital assets, validating activity or the operation of their networks or the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market in a manner that adversely affects the value of the Shares;

 

•

changes in the policies of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) that could adversely impact the value of the Shares;

 

•

regulatory changes or other events in foreign jurisdictions that may affect the value of the Shares or restrict the use of one or more digital assets, validating activity or the operation of their networks or the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market in a manner that adversely affects the value of the Shares;

 

•

the possibility that an Authorized Participant, the Trust or the Sponsor could be subject to regulation as a money service business or money transmitter, which could result in extraordinary expenses to such Authorized Participant, the Trust or the Sponsor and also result in decreased liquidity for the Shares;

 

•

regulatory changes or interpretations that could obligate the Trust or the Sponsor to register and comply with new regulations, resulting in potentially extraordinary, nonrecurring expenses to the Trust;

 

•

potential conflicts of interest that may arise among the Sponsor or its affiliates and the Trust;

 

•

the potential discontinuance of the Sponsor’s continued services, which could be detrimental to the Trust;

 

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the lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares, which could have adverse consequences for the Trust;

 

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the lack of ability to participate in Staking (as defined herein), which could have adverse consequences for the Trust;

 

•

the risk of loss of Ether from Staking, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares;

 

•

the inaccessibility of staked Ether tokens for a variable period of time, which could result in certain liquidity risk to the Trust;

 

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the Trust’s dependence on third parties to effectively execute the Trust’s Staking Arrangements (as defined herein);

 

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the uncertain regulatory landscape surrounding Staking;

 

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potential tax liabilities for beneficial owners of Shares without receiving corresponding distributions from the Trust in connection with Staking;

 

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the Trust’s reliance on third-party service providers to perform certain functions essential to the affairs of the Trust and the challenges replacement of such service providers could pose to the safekeeping of the Trust’s Ether and to the operations of the Trust; and

 

•

the Custodian’s possible resignation or removal by the Sponsor or otherwise, without replacement, which could trigger early termination of the Trust.

Consequently, all forward-looking statements made in this prospectus are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments the Sponsor anticipates will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the expected consequences to, or have the expected effects on, the Trust’s operations or the value of the Shares. Should one or more of these risks discussed in this prospectus, in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Annual Report, in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the other documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein, or other uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially

 

iii

from those described in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on the Sponsor’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and neither the Trust nor the Sponsor is under a duty or undertakes an obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, other than as required by applicable laws. Moreover, neither the Trust, the Sponsor, nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. Investors are therefore cautioned against relying on forward-looking statements.

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in the Shares involves risks, including the risks described below which update the Trust’s previously filed risk factors to the extent applicable, as well as those risks set forth under “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Annual Report, in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the other documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein. You should also refer to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, including the Trust’s financial statements and related notes thereto, before making an investment decision.

Risk Factors Related to the Offering

The liquidity of the Shares may be affected if Authorized Participants cease to perform their obligations under the Participant Agreements or the Liquidity Engager is unable to engage Liquidity Providers.

In the event that one or more Authorized Participants having substantial interests in Shares or otherwise responsible for a significant portion of the Shares’ daily trading volume on NYSE Arca terminates its Participant Agreement, the liquidity of the Shares would likely decrease, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares. In addition, if the Liquidity Engager is unable to engage one or more Liquidity Providers to obtain or receive Ether in connection with Cash Orders, the Trust may have difficulty maintaining the participation of certain Authorized Participants or engaging additional Authorized Participants. Under such circumstances, the liquidity of the Shares would likely decrease, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

The Shares may trade at a price that is at, above or below the Trust’s NAV per Share as a result of the non-current trading hours between NYSE Arca and the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market.

The Trust’s NAV per Share will fluctuate with changes in the market value of Ether, and the Sponsor expects the trading price of the Shares to fluctuate in accordance with changes in the Trust’s NAV per Share, as well as market supply and demand. However, the Shares may trade on NYSE Arca at a price that is at, above or below the Trust’s NAV per Share for a variety of reasons. For example, NYSE Arca is open for trading in the Shares for a limited period each day, but the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market is a 24-hour marketplace. During periods when NYSE Arca is closed but Digital Asset Trading Platforms are open, significant changes in the price of Ether on the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market could result in a difference in performance between the value of Ether as measured by the Index and the most recent NAV per Share or closing trading price. For example, if the price of Ether on the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market, and the value of Ether as measured by the Index, move significantly in a negative direction after the close of NYSE Arca, the trading price of the Shares may “gap” down to the full extent of such negative price shift when NYSE Arca reopens. If the price of Ether on the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market drops significantly during hours NYSE Arca is closed, shareholders may not be able to sell their Shares until after the “gap” down has been fully realized, resulting in an inability to rapidly mitigate losses in a negative market. Even during periods when NYSE Arca is open, large Digital Asset Trading Platforms (or a substantial number of smaller Digital Asset Trading Platforms) may be lightly traded or closed for any number of reasons, which could increase trading spreads and widen any premium or discount on the Shares.

The commencement of a redemption program, in conjunction with the listing of the Shares on the NYSE Arca, may impact whether the Shares trade at a discount or premium to the NAV per Share, and any suspension or other unavailability of the Trust’s redemption program may cause the Shares to trade at a discount to the NAV per Share.

Historically, the Shares have traded on OTCQX at both premiums and discounts to the NAV per Share, which at times have been substantial. The Sponsor believes that the trading price of the Shares has diverged from the NAV per Share in the past due, in part, to the holding period under Rule 144 for Shares purchased in the private placement and the lack of an ongoing redemption program, as a result of which Authorized Participants have been unable to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities when the market value of the Shares deviated from the

 

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NAV per Share. Although the Sponsor cannot predict with certainty what effect the commencement of the Trust’s redemption program, in conjunction with the listing of the Shares on NYSE Arca, will have on the trading price of the Shares, it may have the effect of reducing any premium or discount at which the Shares have been trading on the OTCQX immediately prior to the commencement of the redemption program, and there can be no assurance that the Trust’s redemption program will not be suspended or become unavailable again in the future. In addition, if the Sponsor decides to limit Cash Orders at a time when the Shares are trading at a premium or a discount to the NAV per Share, and In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained as of such time or the in-kind creation or redemption of Shares is otherwise unavailable for any reason, the arbitrage mechanism may fail to effectively function, which could impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at premiums and discounts to the NAV per Share, and otherwise have a negative impact on the value of the Shares.

Shareholders may suffer a loss on their investment if the Shares trade above or below the Trust’s NAV per Share.

Historically, the Shares have traded at both premiums and discounts to the NAV per Share, which at times have been substantial. If the Shares trade on NYSE Arca in the future at a premium, investors who purchase Shares on NYSE Arca will pay more for their Shares than investors who purchase Shares directly from Authorized Participants. In contrast, if the Shares trade on NYSE Arca in the future at a discount, investors who purchase Shares directly from Authorized Participants will pay more for their Shares than investors who purchase Shares on NYSE Arca. The premium or discount at which the Shares have traded has fluctuated over time. For example, from June 20, 2019 to December 31, 2023, the maximum premium of the closing price of the Shares quoted on OTCQX over the value of the Trust’s NAV per Share was 956%, the average premium was 191%, the maximum discount of the closing price of the Shares quoted on OTCQX below the value of the Trust’s NAV per Share was 60%, and the average discount was 26%. The closing price of the Shares, as quoted on OTCQX at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day between June 20, 2019 and December 31, 2023, has been quoted at a discount on 711 days. As of December 29, 2023, the last business day of the period, the Trust’s Shares were quoted on OTCQX at a discount of 12% to the Trust’s NAV per Share. As a result, shareholders who purchase Shares on NYSE Arca at a premium may suffer a loss on their investment if they sell their Shares at a time when the premium has decreased from the premium at which they purchased the Shares even if the NAV per Share remains the same. Likewise, shareholders that purchase Shares directly from the Trust may suffer a loss on their investment if they sell their Shares at a time when the Shares are trading at a discount on NYSE Arca. Furthermore, shareholders may suffer a loss on their investment even if the NAV per Share increases because the decrease in any premium or increase in any discount may offset any increase in the NAV per Share.

There is no guarantee that an active trading market for the Shares will develop.

Although an active market for the Shares had developed on OTCQX and the Shares have begun trading on NYSE Arca, there can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or, to the extent an active market does develop, be maintained or continue to develop on NYSE Arca. In addition, NYSE Arca can halt the trading of the Shares at any time and for a variety of reasons. To the extent that NYSE Arca halts trading in the Shares, whether on a temporary or permanent basis, shareholders may not be able to buy or sell Shares, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares. If an active trading market for the Shares does not develop or continue to exist, the market prices and liquidity of the Shares may be adversely affected.

Risk Factors Related to the Digital Asset Markets

Recent developments in the digital asset economy have led to extreme volatility and disruption in digital asset markets, a loss of confidence in participants of the digital asset ecosystem, significant negative publicity surrounding digital assets broadly and market-wide declines in liquidity.

Since the fourth quarter of 2021 and to date, digital asset prices have fluctuated widely. This has led to volatility and disruption in the digital asset markets and financial difficulties for several prominent industry participants,

 

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including digital asset trading platforms, hedge funds and lending platforms. For example, in the first half of 2022, digital asset lenders Celsius Network LLC and Voyager Digital Ltd. and digital asset hedge fund Three Arrows Capital each declared bankruptcy. This resulted in a loss of confidence in participants in the digital asset ecosystem, negative publicity surrounding digital assets more broadly and market-wide declines in digital asset trading prices and liquidity.

Thereafter, in November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd. (“FTX”), the third largest Digital Asset Trading Platform by volume at the time, halted customer withdrawals amid rumors of the company’s liquidity issues and likely insolvency. Shortly thereafter, FTX’s CEO resigned and FTX and several affiliates of FTX filed for bankruptcy. The U.S. Department of Justice subsequently brought criminal charges, including charges of fraud, violations of federal securities laws, money laundering, and campaign finance offenses, against FTX’s former CEO and others. In November 2023, FTX’s former CEO was convicted of fraud and money laundering. Similar charges related to violations of anti-money laundering laws were brought in November 2023 against Binance and its former CEO. FTX is also under investigation by the SEC, the Justice Department, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as by various regulatory authorities in the Bahamas, Europe and other jurisdictions. In response to these events, the digital asset markets have experienced extreme price volatility and declines in liquidity. In addition, several other entities in the digital asset industry filed for bankruptcy following FTX’s bankruptcy filing, such as BlockFi Inc. and Genesis Global Capital, LLC (“Genesis Capital”), a subsidiary of Genesis Global Holdco, LLC (“Genesis Holdco”). The SEC also brought charges against Genesis Capital and Gemini Trust Company, LLC (“Gemini”) in January 2023 for their alleged unregistered offer and sale of securities to retail investors. In October 2023, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) brought charges against Gemini, Genesis Capital, Genesis Asia Pacific PTE. LTD. (“Genesis Asia Pacific”), Genesis Holdco (together with Genesis Capital and Genesis Asia Pacific, the “Genesis Entities”), Genesis Capital’s former CEO, Digital Currency Group, Inc. (“DCG”), and DCG’s CEO alleging violations of the New York Penal Law, the New York General Business Law and the New York Executive Law. In February 2024, the NYAG amended its complaint to expand the charges against Gemini, the Genesis Entities, Genesis Capital’s former CEO, DCG, and DCG’s CEO to include harm to additional investors. Also in February 2024, the Genesis Entities entered into a settlement agreement with the NYAG to resolve the NYAG’s allegations against the Genesis Entities, which proposed settlement remains subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York.

Furthermore, Genesis Holdco, together with certain of its subsidiaries, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in January 2023. While Genesis Holdco is not a service provider to the Trust, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of DCG, and is an affiliate of the Trust and the Sponsor.

These events have led to a substantial increase in regulatory and enforcement scrutiny of the industry as a whole and of Digital Asset Trading Platforms in particular, including from the Department of Justice, the SEC, the CFTC, the White House and Congress. For example, in June 2023, the SEC brought charges against Binance (the “Binance Complaint”) and Coinbase (the “Coinbase Complaint”), two of the largest digital asset trading platforms, alleging that they solicited U.S. investors to buy, sell, and trade “crypto asset securities” through their unregistered trading platforms and operated unregistered securities exchanges, brokerages and clearing agencies. Binance subsequently announced that it would be suspending USD deposits and withdrawals on Binance.US and that it plans to delist its USD trading pairs. In addition, in November 2023, the SEC brought similar charges against Kraken (the “Kraken Complaint”), alleging that it operated as an unregistered securities exchange, brokerage and clearing agency. The Binance Complaint, the Coinbase Complaint and the Kraken Complaint have led, and may in the future lead, to further volatility in digital asset prices.

These events have also led to significant negative publicity around digital asset market participants including DCG, Genesis and DCG’s other affiliated entities. This publicity could negatively impact the reputation of the Sponsor and have an adverse effect on the trading price and/or the value of the Shares. Moreover, sales of a significant number of Shares of the Trust as a result of these events could have a negative impact on the trading price of the Shares.

 

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Further, in March 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) accepted Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank into receivership. Also, in March 2023, Silvergate Bank announced plans to wind down and liquidate its operations. Following these events, a number of companies that provide digital asset-related services have been unable to find banks that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and banking services. Although these events did not have a material impact on the Trust or the Sponsor, it is possible that a future closing of a bank with which the Trust or the Sponsor has a financial relationship could subject the Trust or the Sponsor to adverse conditions and pose challenges in finding an alternative suitable bank to provide the Trust or the Sponsor with bank accounts and banking services.

These events are continuing to develop at a rapid pace and it is not possible to predict at this time all of the risks that they may pose to the Sponsor, the Trust, their affiliates and/or the Trust’s third-party service providers, or on the digital asset industry as a whole.

Continued disruption and instability in the digital asset markets as these events develop, including further declines in the trading prices and liquidity of Ether, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares and the Shares could lose all or substantially all of their value.

Due to the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of Digital Asset Trading Platforms, they may experience fraud, market manipulation, business failures, security failures or operational problems, which may adversely affect the value of Ether and, consequently, the value of the Shares.

Digital Asset Trading Platforms are relatively new and, in many ways, unregulated. While many prominent Digital Asset Trading Platforms provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance, many other Digital Asset Trading Platforms do not provide this information. Furthermore, while Digital Asset Trading Platforms are and may continue to be subject to federal and state licensing requirements in the United States, Digital Asset Trading Platforms do not currently appear to be subject to regulation in a similar manner as other regulated trading platforms, such as national securities exchanges or designated contract markets. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in Digital Asset Trading Platforms, including prominent trading platforms that handle a significant volume of Ether trading.

Many Digital Asset Trading Platforms are unlicensed, unregulated, operate without extensive supervision by governmental authorities, and do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management team, corporate practices, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. In particular, those located outside the United States may be subject to significantly less stringent regulatory and compliance requirements in their local jurisdictions and may take the position that they are not subject to laws and regulations that would apply to a national securities exchange or designated contract market in the United States, or may, as a practical matter, be beyond the ambit of U.S. regulators. As a result, trading activity on or reported by these Digital Asset Trading Platforms is generally significantly less regulated than trading activity on or reported by regulated U.S. securities and commodities markets, and may reflect behavior that would be prohibited in regulated U.S. trading venues. For example, in 2022 one report claimed that trading volumes on unregulated Digital Asset Trading Platforms were inflated by over 70% due to false or non-economic trades, with specific focus on unlicensed trading platforms located outside of the United States. Such reports may indicate that the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market is significantly smaller than expected and that the U.S. makes up a significantly larger percentage of the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market than is commonly understood. Nonetheless, any actual or perceived false trading in the Digital Asset Trading Platform Market, and any other fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, could adversely affect the value of Ether and/or negatively affect the market perception of Ether, which could in turn adversely impact the value of the Shares.

The SEC has also identified possible sources of fraud and manipulation in the Digital Asset Markets generally, including, among others (1) “wash-trading”; (2) persons with a dominant position in Ether manipulating Ether

 

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pricing; (3) hacking of the Ethereum Network and trading platforms; (4) malicious control of the Ethereum Network; (5) trading based on material, non-public information (for example, plans of market participants to significantly increase or decrease their holdings in Ether, new sources of demand for Ether) or based on the dissemination of false and misleading information; (6) manipulative activity involving purported “stablecoins,” including Tether; and (7) fraud and manipulation at Digital Asset Markets. The use or presence of such acts and practices in the Digital Asset Markets could, for example, falsely inflate the volume of Ether present in the Digital Asset Markets or cause distortions in the price of Ether, among other things that could adversely affect the Trust or cause losses to shareholders. Moreover, tools to detect and deter fraudulent or manipulative trading activities, such as market manipulation, front-running of trades, and wash-trading, may not be available to or employed by Digital Asset Markets, or may not exist at all. Many Digital Asset Markets also lack certain safeguards put in place by exchanges for more traditional assets to enhance the stability of trading on the exchanges and prevent “flash crashes,” such as limit-down circuit breakers. As a result, the prices of Ether on Digital Asset Markets may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges.

In addition, over the past several years, some Digital Asset Trading Platforms have been closed, been subject to criminal and civil litigation and have entered into bankruptcy proceedings due to fraud and manipulative activity, business failure and/or security breaches. In many of these instances, the customers of such Digital Asset Trading Platforms were not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances in such Digital Asset Trading Platforms. While smaller Digital Asset Trading Platforms are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that make larger Digital Asset Trading Platforms more stable, larger Digital Asset Trading Platforms are more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and malware and their shortcomings or ultimate failures are more likely to have contagion effects on the digital asset ecosystem, and therefore may be more likely to be targets of regulatory enforcement action. For example, in February 2014, Mt. Gox, the largest Digital Asset Trading Platform at the time, halted withdrawals of Bitcoin and subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan following a hack that resulted in the loss of several hundred thousand Bitcoin. In the two weeks following the halt of Bitcoin withdrawals from Mt. Gox, the value of one Bitcoin fell on other trading platforms from around $795 to $578. Failure and shortcomings of large Digital Asset Trading Platforms have since continued; in January 2015, Bitstamp announced that approximately 19,000 Bitcoin had been stolen from its operational or “hot” wallets, and in August 2016, it was reported that almost 120,000 Bitcoin worth around $78 million were stolen from Bitfinex. The value of Bitcoin and other digital assets immediately decreased over 10% following reports of the theft at Bitfinex. Regulatory enforcement actions have followed, such as in July 2017, when FinCEN assessed a $110 million fine against BTC-E, a now defunct Digital Asset Trading Platform, for facilitating crimes such as drug sales and ransomware attacks. In addition, in December 2017, Yapian, the operator of Seoul-based digital asset trading platform Youbit, suspended digital asset trading and filed for bankruptcy following a hack that resulted in a loss of 17% of Yapian’s assets. In January 2018, the Japanese digital asset trading platform, Coincheck, was hacked, resulting in losses of approximately $535 million, and in February 2018, the Italian digital asset trading platform, Bitgrail, was hacked, resulting in approximately $170 million in losses. In May 2019, one of the world’s largest Digital Asset Trading Platforms, Binance, was hacked, resulting in losses of approximately $40 million. More recently, in November 2022, FTX, another of the world’s largest Digital Asset Trading Platforms, filed for bankruptcy protection and subsequently halted customer withdrawals as well as trading on its FTX.US platform. While details and events surrounding the failure continue to develop, and it is unclear what the eventual impacts of its bankruptcy will be, it appears that fraud, security failures and operational problems all played a role in FTX’s issues. Moreover, Digital Asset Trading Platforms have been a subject of enhanced regulatory and enforcement scrutiny, and Digital Asset Markets have experienced continued instability, following the failure of FTX. In particular, in June 2023, the SEC brought the Binance Complaint and Coinbase Complaint, alleging that Binance and Coinbase operated unregistered securities exchanges, brokerages and clearing agencies. In addition, in November 2023, the SEC brought the Kraken Complaint, alleging that Kraken operated as an unregistered securities exchange, brokerage and clearing agency.

 

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Negative perception, a lack of stability and standardized regulation in the Digital Asset Markets and/or the closure or temporary shutdown of Digital Asset Trading Platforms due to fraud, business failure, security breaches or government mandated regulation, and associated losses by customers, may reduce confidence in the Ethereum Network and result in greater volatility in the prices of Ether. Furthermore, the closure or temporary shutdown of a Digital Asset Trading Platform used in calculating the Index Price may result in a loss of confidence in the Trust’s ability to determine its NAV on a daily basis. These potential consequences of such a Digital Asset Trading Platform’s failure could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Digital Asset Trading Platforms may be exposed to front-running.

Digital Asset Trading Platforms may be susceptible to “front-running,” which refers to the process when someone uses technology or market advantage to get prior knowledge of upcoming transactions. Front-running is a frequent activity on centralized as well as decentralized trading platforms. By using bots functioning on a millisecond-scale timeframe, bad actors are able to take advantage of the forthcoming price movement and make economic gains at the cost of those who had introduced these transactions. The objective of a front runner is to buy tokens at a low price and later sell them at a higher price while simultaneously exiting the position. To the extent that front-running occurs, it may result in investor frustrations and concerns as to the price integrity of Digital Asset Trading Platforms and digital assets more generally.

Digital Asset Trading Platforms may be exposed to wash trading.

Digital Asset Trading Platforms may be susceptible to wash trading. Wash trading occurs when offsetting trades are entered into for other than bona fide reasons, such as the desire to inflate reported trading volumes. Wash trading may be motivated by non-economic reasons, such as a desire for increased visibility on popular websites that monitor markets for digital assets so as to improve a trading platform’s attractiveness to investors who look for maximum liquidity, or it may be motivated by the ability to attract listing fees from token issuers who seek the most liquid and high-volume trading platforms on which to list their tokens. Results of wash trading may include unexpected obstacles to trade and erroneous investment decisions based on false information.

Even in the United States, there have been allegations of wash trading even on regulated venues. Any actual or perceived false trading on Digital Asset Trading Platforms, and any other fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, could adversely affect the value of Ether and/or negatively affect the market perception of Ether.

To the extent that wash trading either occurs or appears to occur in Digital Asset Trading Platforms, investors may develop negative perceptions about Ether and the digital assets industry more broadly, which could adversely impact the price of Ether and, therefore, the price of the Shares. Wash trading also may place more legitimate Digital Asset Trading Platforms at a relative competitive disadvantage.

The Index Price used to calculate the value of the Trust’s Ether may be volatile, and purchasing and selling activity in the Digital Asset Markets associated with Basket creations and redemptions may affect the Index Price and Share trading prices, adversely affecting the value of the Shares.

The price of Ether on public Digital Asset Trading Platforms has a very limited history, and during this history, Ether prices on the Digital Asset Markets more generally, and on Digital Asset Trading Platforms individually, have been volatile and subject to influence by many factors, including operational interruptions. While the Index is designed to limit exposure to the interruption of individual Digital Asset Trading Platforms, the Index Price, and the price of Ether generally, remains subject to volatility experienced by Digital Asset Trading Platforms, and such volatility could adversely affect the value of the Shares. For example, from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2023, the Index Price ranged from $102.84 to $4,776.32, with the straight average being $1,408.44 through December 31, 2023. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2023, the Index Price ranged from $1,200.90 to $2,375.87. The Sponsor has not observed a material difference between the Index Price and average prices from the constituent Digital Asset Trading Platforms individually or as a group. The price of Ether more generally has experienced volatility similar to the Index Price during these periods. For additional information on

 

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movement of the Index Price and the price of Ether, see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Historical NAV and ETH Prices” in the Annual Report.

Furthermore, because the number of Digital Asset Trading Platforms is limited, the Index will necessarily be comprised of a limited number of Digital Asset Trading Platforms. If a Digital Asset Trading Platform were subjected to regulatory, volatility or other pricing issues, the Index Provider would have limited ability to remove such Digital Asset Trading Platform from the Index, which could skew the price of Ether as represented by the Index. Trading on a limited number of Digital Asset Trading Platforms may result in less favorable prices and decreased liquidity of Ether and, therefore, could have an adverse effect on the value of the Shares.

Purchasing activity associated with acquiring Ether required for the creation of Baskets may increase the market price of Ether on the Digital Asset Markets, which will result in higher prices for the Shares. Alternatively, selling activity associated with sales of Ether withdrawn from the Trust in connection with the redemption of Baskets may decrease the market price of Ether on the Digital Asset Markets, which will result in lower prices for the Shares. Increases or decreases in the market price of Ether may also occur as a result of the purchasing or selling activity of other market participants. Other market participants may attempt to benefit from an increase or decrease in the market price of Ether that may result from increased purchasing or selling activity of Ether connected with the creation or redemption of Baskets. Consequently, the market price of Ether may decline immediately after Baskets are created. Decreases in the market price of Ether may also occur as a result of sales in Secondary Markets by other market participants. If the Index Price declines, the value of the Shares will generally also decline.

Competition from the emergence or growth of other digital assets or methods of investing in Ether could have a negative impact on the price of Ether and adversely affect the value of the Shares.

As of December 31, 2023, Ether was the second largest digital asset by market capitalization, as tracked by CoinMarketCap.com. As of December 31, 2023, the alternative digital assets tracked by CoinMarketCap.com had a total market capitalization of approximately $1,518.3 billion (including the approximately $274 billion market cap of ETH), as calculated using market prices and total available supply of each digital asset, excluding tokens pegged to other assets. In addition, many consortiums and financial institutions are also researching and investing resources into private or permissioned smart contracts platforms rather than open platforms like the Ethereum Network. Competition from the emergence or growth of alternative digital assets and smart contracts platforms, such as Solana, Avalanche or Cardano, could have a negative impact on the demand for, and price of, Ether and thereby adversely affect the value of the Shares.

In addition, some digital asset networks, including the Ethereum Network, may be the target of ill will from users of other digital asset networks. For example, in July 2016, the Ethereum Network underwent a contentious hard fork that resulted in the creation of a new digital asset network called Ethereum Classic. As a result, some users of the Ethereum Classic network may harbor ill will toward the Ethereum Network. These users may attempt to negatively impact the use or adoption of the Ethereum Network. For additional information on the hard fork that resulted in the creation of Ethereum Classic, see “Item 1. Business—Overview of the ETH Industry and Market—Introduction to Ether and the Ethereum Network—The DAO and Ethereum Classic” in the Annual Report.

Investors may invest in Ether through means other than the Shares, including through direct investments in Ether and other potential financial vehicles, possibly including securities backed by or linked to Ether and digital asset financial vehicles similar to the Trust. While the Trust is the largest and most liquid Ether investment vehicle in the world, the Trust and the Sponsor face competition with respect to the creation of competing exchange-traded spot Ether products, among other digital asset vehicles, several of which have applications pending before the SEC. Whether the Trust is successful in maintaining its scale and achieving its intended competitive position may be impacted by a range of factors, including the Trust’s timing in entering the market relative to competing spot Ether exchange-traded products and its fee structure relative to those competing products. For example, if

 

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the SEC were to approve many or all of the currently pending applications for such exchange-traded spot Ether products, the Trust could fail to continue to acquire substantial assets. The Trust’s competitors may also charge a substantially lower fee than the Sponsor Fee in an effort to achieve initial market acceptance and scale, which could cause investors to favor such competing products over the Trust.

If the Trust fails to continue to maintain or grow sufficient scale due to competition, the Sponsor may have difficulty raising sufficient revenue to cover the costs associated with maintaining the Trust and such shortfalls could impact the Sponsor’s ability to properly invest in robust ongoing operations and controls of the Trust to minimize the risk of operating events, errors, or other forms of losses to the Shareholders. Furthermore, the Trust may fail to continue to attract adequate liquidity in the secondary market due to such competition, resulting in a small number of Authorized Participants willing to make a market in the Shares, which in turn could result in the Shares trading at a significant premium or discount for extended periods. Likewise, market and financial conditions, among other conditions outside the Trust’s control, may cause investors to find it more attractive to gain exposure to Ether through other vehicles, rather than the Trust.

In addition, to the extent digital asset financial vehicles other than the Trust tracking the price of Ether come to represent a significant proportion of the demand for Ether, large purchases or redemptions of the securities of these digital asset financial vehicles, or private funds holding Ether, could negatively affect the Index Price, the NAV, the value of the Shares, the Principal Market NAV and the Principal Market NAV per Share. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the Trust will be able to maintain its scale and achieve its intended competitive positioning relative to competitors, which could adversely affect the performance of the Trust and the value of the Shares.

Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares

The lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares could have adverse consequences for the Trust.

The Trust is currently only able to accept Cash Orders, which means that an Authorized Participant will deposit cash into, or accept cash from, the Cash Account in connection with the creation and redemption of Baskets, and a Liquidity Provider will obtain or receive Ether in exchange for cash in connection with such order. However, and in common with other spot digital asset exchange-traded products, the Trust is not at this time able to create and redeem Shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants in exchange for Ether.

Authorized participants must be registered broker-dealers. Registered broker-dealers are subject to various requirements of the federal securities laws and rules, including financial responsibility rules such as the customer protection rule, the net capital rule and recordkeeping requirements. There has yet to be definitive regulatory guidance on whether and how registered broker-dealers can comply with these rules with regard to transacting in or holding spot Ether. Until further regulatory clarity emerges regarding whether registered broker-dealers can hold and deal in Ether under such rules, there is a risk that registered broker-dealers participating in the in-kind creation or redemption of Shares for Ether may be unable to demonstrate compliance with such requirements. While compliance with these requirements would be the broker-dealer’s responsibility, a national securities exchange is required to enforce compliance by its member broker-dealers with applicable federal securities law and rules. As a result, the SEC is unlikely to permit an exchange to adopt listing rules for a product if it is not clear that the exchange’s members would be able to comply with applicable rules when transacting in the product as designed. To the extent further regulatory clarity emerges, the Sponsor expects NYSE Arca to seek the necessary regulatory approval to amend its listing rules to permit the Trust to create and redeem Shares through In-Kind Orders, in which Authorized Participants or their designees would deposit Ether directly with the Trust or receive Ether directly from the Trust. However, there can be no assurance as to when such regulatory clarity will emerge, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain this approval, if at all.

To the knowledge of the Sponsor, exchange-traded products for all spot-market commodities other than Bitcoin and Ether, such as gold and silver, employ in-kind creations and redemptions with the underlying asset. The

 

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Sponsor believes that it is generally more efficient, and therefore less costly, for spot commodity exchange-traded products to utilize in-kind orders rather than cash orders, because there are fewer steps in the process and therefore there is less operational risk involved when an authorized participant can manage the buying and selling of the underlying asset itself, rather than depend on an unaffiliated party such as the issuer or sponsor of the exchange-traded product. As such, a spot commodity exchange-traded product that only employs cash creations and redemptions and does not permit in-kind creations and redemptions is a novel product that has not been tested, and could be impacted by any resulting operational inefficiencies.

In particular, the Trust’s inability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions could result in the exchange-traded product arbitrage mechanism failing to function as efficiently as it otherwise would, leading to the potential for the Shares to trade at premiums or discounts to the NAV per Share, and such premiums or discounts could be substantial. Furthermore, if Cash Orders are unavailable, either due to the Sponsor’s decision to reject or suspend such orders or otherwise, it will not be possible for Authorized Participants to redeem or create Shares, in which case the arbitrage mechanism would be unavailable. This could result in impaired liquidity for the Shares, wider bid/ask spreads in secondary trading of the Shares and greater costs to investors and other market participants. In addition, the Trust’s inability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions, and resulting reliance on cash creations and redemptions, could cause the Sponsor to halt or suspend the creation of redemption of Shares during times of market volatility or turmoil, among other consequences.

Even if In-Kind Regulatory Approval were obtained, there can be no assurance that in-kind creations or redemptions of the Shares will be available in the future, or that broker-dealers would be willing to serve as Authorized Participants with respect to the in-kind creation and redemption of Shares. Any of these factors could adversely affect the performance of the Trust and the value of the Shares.

Shareholders will not receive the benefits of any forks or airdrops.

The Ethereum Network operates using open-source protocols, meaning that any user can download the software, modify it and then propose that the users and validators of Ether adopt the modification. When a modification is introduced and a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the modification, the change is implemented and the network remains uninterrupted. However, if less than a substantial majority of users and validators consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification, the consequence would be what is known as a “hard fork” of the Ethereum Network, with one group running the pre-modified software and the other running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of Ethereum running in parallel, yet lacking interchangeability. In addition to forks, a digital asset may become subject to a similar occurrence known as an “airdrop.” In an airdrop, the promoters of a new digital asset announce to holders of another digital asset that such holders will be entitled to claim a certain amount of the new digital asset, generally for free, based on the fact that they hold such other digital asset. We refer to the right to receive any benefits arising from a fork, airdrop or similar event as an “Incidental Right” and any such virtual currency acquired through an Incidental Right as “IR Virtual Currency.”

With respect to any fork, airdrop or similar event, the Sponsor will cause the Trust to irrevocably abandon the Incidental Rights and any IR Virtual Currency associated with such event. As such, shareholders will not receive the benefits of any forks, and the Trust is not able to participate in any airdrop.

In the event the Sponsor seeks to change the Trust’s policy with respect to Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency, an application would need to be filed with the SEC by NYSE Arca seeking approval to amend its listing rules to permit the Trust to distribute the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency in-kind to an agent of the shareholders for resale by such agent. However, there can be no assurance as to whether or when the Sponsor would make such a decision, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain this approval, if at all.

Even if such regulatory approval is sought and obtained, shareholders may not receive the benefits of any forks, the Trust may not choose, or be able, to participate in an airdrop, and the timing of receiving any benefits from a

 

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fork, airdrop or similar event is uncertain. Any inability to recognize the economic benefit of a hard fork or airdrop could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Coinbase Global serves as the Ether custodian and prime execution agent for several competing exchange-traded Ether products, which could adversely affect the Trust’s operations and ultimately the value of the Shares.

The Prime Broker and Custodian are both affiliates of Coinbase Global. As of the date hereof, Coinbase Global is the largest publicly traded digital asset company in the world by market capitalization and is also the largest digital asset custodian in the world by assets under custody. By virtue of its leading market position and capabilities, and the relatively limited number of institutionally-capable providers of digital asset brokerage and custody services, Coinbase Global serves as the Ether custodian and prime execution agent for several competing exchange-traded Ether products. Therefore, Coinbase Global plays a critical role in supporting the U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded product ecosystem, and its size and market share create the risk that Coinbase Global may fail to properly resource its operations to adequately support all such products that use its services, which could harm the Trust, the shareholders and the value of the Shares. If Coinbase Global were to favor the interests of certain products over others, it could result in inadequate attention or comparatively unfavorable commercial terms to less favored products, which could adversely affect the Trust’s operations and ultimately the value of the Shares.

Certain of the Authorized Participants engaged by the Trust serve in a similar capacity for several competing exchange-traded Ether products, which could adversely affect the arbitrage mechanism, the Trust’s operations, the performance of the Trust and ultimately the value of the Shares.

Certain of the Authorized Participants engaged by the Trust serve in a similar capacity for several competing exchange-traded Ether products. As a result, the Authorized Participants may be unable to adequately support all of the exchange-traded Ether products that use their respective services. This risk may also be exacerbated as a consequence of the price and volatility of Ether, as well as the number of Ether that is required to create or redeem Shares of the Trust. As of April 19, 2024, 94.804817 Ether are required to create a Basket, or 10,000 Shares. Moreover, the Authorized Participants may choose to facilitate creations and redemptions for competing products rather than for the Trust, including as a result of, among other things, how effectively the arbitrage mechanism of the Trust functions, the liquidity for the Shares, the bid/ask spreads in secondary trading of the Shares and the costs associated with creating and redeeming Shares of the Trust, in each case relative to competing products. In addition, given the relatively limited number of market participants that could serve as Authorized Participants of the Trust, the Trust may not be able to engage other providers to serve as Authorized Participants. If any or all of the Authorized Participants were to cease to act in their capacity as Authorized Participants of the Trust, or if any of the Authorized Participants were to favor creating and redeeming shares of competing products over those of the Trust, the Trust may receive inadequate attention or be subject to comparatively unfavorable commercial terms, which could adversely affect the arbitrage mechanism, the Trust’s operations, the performance of the Trust and ultimately the value of the Shares. See also “—Risks Related to the Offering—Competition from the emergence or growth of other digital assets or methods of investing in Ether could have a negative impact on the price of Ether and adversely affect the value of the Shares.”

Risk Factors Related to the Regulation of the Trust and the Shares

The treatment of the Trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes is uncertain.

The Trust has taken certain positions with respect to the tax consequences of Incidental Rights and its receipt of IR Virtual Currency. If the IRS were to disagree with, and successfully challenge, any of these positions the Trust might not qualify as a grantor trust. In addition, the Sponsor has delivered the Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notices (as defined herein) to each of the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit, Inc. (“Coinbase Credit”), stating that the Trust is irrevocably abandoning, effective immediately prior to each Creation Time or Redemption Time, all Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be

 

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entitled as of such time and with respect to which it has not taken any Affirmative Action at or prior to such time. The Sponsor has committed to cause the Trust to irrevocably abandon any Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust may become entitled in the future. There can be no complete assurance that these abandonments will be treated as effective for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the Trust were treated as owning any asset other than Ether as of any date on which it creates or redeems Shares, it might cease to qualify as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Risk Factors Related to Staking

The Trust will not be permitted to engage in Staking unless (and, then, only to the extent that) the Staking Condition is satisfied in addition to the Trust satisfying any additional requirements that may arise in connection with the satisfaction of the Staking Condition, which could negatively affect the value of the Shares.

The Trust currently is prohibited from engaging in Staking, and there can be no assurance that the Trust will be permitted to engage in Staking in the future. The Trust Agreement provides that the Trust may engage in Staking, but only if (and, then, only to the extent that) the Staking Condition has been satisfied. As of the date of this prospectus, the Staking Condition has not been met for the Trust, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the Staking Condition will be met for the Trust in the future.

Subject to the Staking Condition being satisfied and subject to compliance with certain related requirements, in the future the Trust may establish a program to participate in the proof-of-stake validation mechanism of the Ethereum Network to receive rewards comprising additional Ether in respect of a portion of its Ether holdings. However, as long as the Staking Condition and any related requirements have not been satisfied the Trust will not participate in the proof-of-stake validation mechanism of the Ethereum Network to receive rewards comprising additional Ether in respect of its Ether holdings. The current inability of the Trust to participate in Staking and receive such rewards could place the Shares at a comparative disadvantage relative to an investment in Ether directly or through a vehicle that is not subject to such a prohibition, which could negatively affect the value of the Shares.

Staking introduces a risk of loss of Ether, which could adversely affect the value of the Shares.

Staking introduces a risk of loss of Ether. None of the Trust’s assets, including potentially staked assets, are subject to the protections enjoyed by depositors or customers of institutions with FDIC or Securities Investor Protection Corporation membership. The Ethereum Network imposes three types of sanctions for validator misbehavior or inactivity, which would result in a portion of staked Ether being destroyed or “burned”: penalties, slashing and inactivity leaks.

A validator may face penalties if it fails to take certain actions, such as providing a timely attestation to a block proposed by another validator. Under this scenario, a validator’s staked Ether could be burned in an amount equal to the reward to which it would have been entitled for performing the actions.

A more severe sanction (i.e., “slashing”) is imposed if a validator commits malicious acts related to the proposal or attestation of blocks with invalid transactions. Slashing can result in the validator having a portion of its staked Ether immediately burned. After this initial slashing, the validator is queued for forceful removal from the Ethereum Network’s validator “pool,” (as described in “—Staked Ether tokens will be inaccessible for a variable period of time, determined by a range of factors, which could result in certain liquidity risk to the Trust” below) and more of the validator’s stake is burned over a period of approximately 36 days (with the exact amount of Ether burned and time period determined by the protocol) regardless of whether the validator makes any further slashable errors, at which point the validator is automatically removed from the validator pool.

Staked Ether may also be burned through a process known as an “inactivity leak,” which is triggered if the Ethereum protocol has gone too long without finalizing a new block. For a new block to be successfully added to

 

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the blockchain, validators that account for at least two-thirds of all staked Ether must agree on the validity of a proposed block. This means that if validators representing more than one-third of the total staked Ether are offline, no new blocks can be finalized. To prevent this, an inactivity leak causes the Ether staked by the inactive validators to gradually “bleed away” until these inactive validators represent less than one-third of the total stake, thereby allowing the remaining active validators to finalize proposed blocks. This provides a further incentive for validators to remain online and continue performing validation activities.

There can be no guarantee that penalties, slashing or inactivity leaks and resulting losses will not occur as a result of the activities of a Staking Provider. Furthermore, a Staking Provider’s liability to the Trust is expected to be limited, and a Staking Provider may lack the assets or insurance in order to support the recovery of any losses incurred. While the Staking Arrangements may provide for indemnification up to a specified cap, slashing insurance or other reimbursement programs, there can be no guarantee that the Trust would recover any of its staked assets, or the value thereof, if it is subject to sanctions imposed by the Ethereum Network.

Staked Ether tokens will be inaccessible for a variable period of time, determined by a range of factors, which could result in certain liquidity risk to the Trust.

Under current Ethereum Network protocols, staked Ether tokens are permitted to be un-staked by the holder of such Ether tokens. However, as part of the “activating” and “exiting” processes of staking, staked Ether tokens will be inaccessible for a variable period of time determined by a range of factors, including network congestion, resulting in certain liquidity risks that the Sponsor plans to manage. “Activation” is the funding of a validator to be included in the active set, thereby allowing the validator to participate in the Ethereum Network’s proof-of-stake consensus protocol. “Exit” is the request to exit from the active set and no longer participate in the Ethereum Network’s proof-of-stake consensus protocol. As part of these “activating” and “exiting” processes of staking on the Ethereum Network, any staked Ether will be inaccessible for a period of time. The duration of activating and exiting periods are dependent on a range of factors, including network conditions. However, depending on demand, un-staking can take between hours, days or weeks to complete. This can result in certain liquidity risk to the Trust, which the Sponsor will seek to manage through a range of risk management methods.

The Sponsor anticipates that it will instruct a Staking Provider to stake the substantial majority of the Trust’s Ether at all times. The Trust’s Ether would be un-staked (or not staked in the first instance) only (i) as necessary to pay the Sponsor’s Fee, (ii) to pay any additional Trust expenses, (iii) to be able to satisfy existing and reasonably foreseen potential redemption requests (assuming the Trust is then permitted to operate an ongoing redemption program), (iv) to reduce the Ether obtained by the Trust as Staking Consideration to cash for distribution at regular intervals, (v) if the Sponsor determines that Staking raises significant governmental, policy or regulatory concerns, (vi) if the Sponsor determines there exist vulnerabilities in the source code or cryptography underlying the Ethereum Network, (vii) if the Custodian or Staking Provider discontinues their arrangements with the Trust, (viii) if the Sponsor otherwise determines that continued Staking of such portion of the Trust’s assets would be inconsistent with the Trust’s purpose of protecting and preserving the value of the Trust Estate, or (ix) in accordance with any other exception that is expressly contemplated by an opinion or ruling that satisfies the Staking Condition. Ether received by the Trust in connection with the creation of new Shares, or as staking rewards, must also be staked upon receipt by the Trust, except as required to not be staked in the first instance pursuant to the exceptions described in clauses (i)-(ix) above.

Assuming that the Trust is then permitted to operate an ongoing redemption program due to the time involved in “exiting” the staking process there is a risk that the Trust could become unable to timely meet excessive redemption requests in amounts that are greater than the portion of the Trust’s Ether that remains un-staked, leading to temporary delays in settlement and, in extreme scenarios, the temporary unavailability of the Trust’s redemption program. Moreover, any staked Ether which must be un-staked in order to fulfill a redemption (to the extent such redemption cannot be fulfilled utilizing the portion of the Trust’s Ether that has not been staked) will be un-staked only after the redemption request is approved by the Trust, the Sponsor executes an un-stake or

 

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withdrawal transaction, and such transaction is processed by the Ethereum Network. The Staking Provider will not be able to change the addresses on the Ethereum Network to which staked Ether is to be withdrawn or to which Ether rewards shall be sent.

The Trust will be dependent on third parties to effectively execute the Trust’s Staking Arrangements.

As the Sponsor currently anticipates that Staking will be carried out by the Custodian and third-party Staking Providers, the amount of staking rewards that the Trust’s staking activity will generate will be dependent on the performance of the Custodian and the Staking Provider, including the adequacy and reliability of the hardware and software utilized by the Staking Provider. If the Custodian or the Staking Provider experience service outages or otherwise are unable to optimally execute the Staking of the Trust’s Ether, the Trust’s staking rewards may be adversely affected.

The regulatory landscape surrounding Staking is uncertain.

The regulatory landscape surrounding Staking is highly uncertain, and may expose the Sponsor, Custodian, third-party Staking Providers and the Trust and its shareholders to unforeseen regulatory risks or potential enforcement actions. The Sponsor is permitted to cause the Trust to engage in Staking only if certain conditions set forth in the Trust Agreement relating to the qualification of the Trust as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes are satisfied. Due to the lack of authority regarding the ability of a grantor trust to engage in activities such as Staking, there can be no assurance whether or when these conditions will be satisfied or the Trust will be permitted to engage in Staking.

If the Staking Condition is satisfied, beneficial owners of Shares could incur tax liabilities without receiving corresponding distributions from the Trust.

There can be no assurance that the Staking Condition will be satisfied or that the Trust will stake any of its Ether tokens. If the Staking Condition is satisfied, Shareholders may suffer adverse tax consequences. In particular, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has indicated that the receipt of staking rewards gives rise to current, ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Assuming that the Trust is properly treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, beneficial owners of Shares will be required to take their ratable share of any such income into account in determining their own tax liability, regardless of whether the Trust makes any corresponding distributions. Shareholders should therefore expect that, if the Staking Condition is satisfied, other sources of funds may be needed to satisfy any associated tax liability.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Proceeds received by the Trust from the issuance and sale of Baskets will consist of Ether deposited with the Trust in connection with creations. Such Ether will only be (i) owned by the Trust, (ii) transferred (or converted to U.S. dollars, if necessary) to pay the Trust’s expenses, (iii) distributed or otherwise disposed of in connection with the redemption of Baskets, (iv) liquidated in the event that the Trust terminates or as otherwise required by law or regulation or (v) used in Staking, only if (and, then, only to the extent that) the Staking Condition (as defined herein) relating to the qualification of the Trust as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes is satisfied and subject to compliance with any additional requirements that may arise in connection with satisfaction of the Staking Condition.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF THE SHARES

The Trust is authorized under the Trust Agreement to create and issue an unlimited number of Shares. Shares are issued only in Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 10,000 Shares) in connection with creations. The Shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust and have no par value. On December 17, 2020, the Trust completed a 9-for-1 Share split of the Trust’s issued and outstanding Shares. In connection with the Share Split, shareholders of record on December 14, 2020 received eight additional Shares of the Trust for each Share held. The number of outstanding Shares and per-Share amounts disclosed for periods prior to December 17, 2020 have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the effects of the Share Split, as applicable. The Shares are expected to be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol “ETHE”.

Description of Limited Rights

The Shares do not represent a traditional investment and should not be viewed as similar to “shares” of a corporation operating a business enterprise with management and a board of directors. A shareholder will not have the statutory rights normally associated with the ownership of shares of a corporation. Each Share is transferable, is fully paid and non-assessable and entitles the holder to vote on the limited matters upon which shareholders may vote under the Trust Agreement. For example, shareholders do not have the right to elect or remove directors and will not receive dividends. The Shares do not entitle their holders to any conversion or pre-emptive rights or, except as discussed below, any redemption rights or rights to distributions.

Voting and Approvals

The shareholders take no part in the management or control of the Trust. Under the Trust Agreement, shareholders have limited voting rights. For example, in the event that the Sponsor withdraws, a majority of the shareholders may elect and appoint a successor sponsor to carry out the affairs of the Trust. In addition, no amendments to the Trust Agreement that materially adversely affect the interests of shareholders may be made without the vote of at least a majority (over 50%) of the then-outstanding Shares (not including any Shares held by the Sponsor or its affiliates); provided, however, that a shareholder shall be deemed to consent to a modification or amendment of the Trust Agreement if the Sponsor has notified such shareholder in writing of the proposed modification or amendment and such shareholder has not, within twenty (20) calendar days of such notice, notified the Sponsor in writing that such shareholder objects to such modification or amendment. Additionally, subject to certain limitations, the Sponsor may make any other amendments to the Trust Agreement which do not materially adversely affect the interests of the shareholders in its sole discretion without shareholder consent.

Redemptions and Distributions

Through its redemption program, the Trust may redeem Shares from Authorized Participants on an ongoing basis. Although the Trust redeems Baskets only by distributing Ether, at this time an Authorized Participant can only submit Cash Orders, pursuant to which the Authorized Participant will accept cash from the Cash Account in connection with the redemption of Baskets. Cash Orders will be facilitated by the Transfer Agent and Grayscale Investments, LLC, which will engage one or more Liquidity Providers that is not an agent of, or otherwise acting on behalf of, any Authorized Participant receiving Ether in connection with such orders. Subject to In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future the Trust may also redeem Baskets via In-Kind Orders, pursuant to which an Authorized Participant or its AP Designee would receive Ether directly from the Trust. However, because In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained, at this time Baskets will not be redeemed through In-Kind Orders and will only be redeemed through Cash Orders. Pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement, the Trust may make distributions on the Shares in-cash or in-kind.

In addition, if the Trust is terminated and liquidated, the Sponsor will distribute to the shareholders any amounts of the cash proceeds of the liquidation remaining after the satisfaction of all outstanding liabilities of the Trust

 

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and the establishment of reserves for applicable taxes, other governmental charges and contingent or future liabilities as the Sponsor will determine. See “Part I—Item 1. Business—Description of the Trust Agreement—Termination of the Trust” in the Annual Report. Shareholders of record on the record date fixed by the Transfer Agent for a distribution will be entitled to receive their pro rata portions of any distribution.

Staking

The Trust Agreement provides that the Trust may engage in Staking, but only if (and, then, only to the extent that) the Staking Condition has been satisfied. Subject to the Staking Condition being satisfied and subject to compliance with any additional requirements that may arise in connection with satisfaction of the Staking Condition, in the future the Trust may establish a program to participate in the proof-of-stake validation mechanism of the Ethereum Network to receive rewards comprising additional Ether in respect of a portion of its Ether holdings.

As of the date of this prospectus, the Staking Condition has not been met for the Trust, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the Staking Condition will be met for the Trust in the future. As such, the Trust currently is prohibited from engaging in Staking, and there can be no assurance that the Trust will be permitted to engage in Staking in the future. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to Staking—The Trust will not be permitted to engage in Staking unless (and, then, only to the extent that) the Staking Condition is satisfied in addition to the Trust satisfying any additional requirements that may arise in connection with the satisfaction of the Staking Condition, which could negatively affect the value of the Shares.”

Staking Arrangements and Provider-Facilitated Staking Model

If and when the Staking Condition is satisfied, the Sponsor anticipates that the Trust will enter into written arrangements (the “Staking Arrangements”) with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC (the “Custodian”) and one or more third party staking service providers (each, a “Staking Provider”), which may be affiliates of the Custodian or other trusted institutional validators, to stake the Trust’s Ether through a Staking Provider’s validator software and associated hardware designed to allow a holder of Ether to participate in the validation process on the Ethereum Network (“Provider-Facilitated Staking”). The Sponsor anticipates that the Trust’s Ether will be staked exclusively by means of Provider-Facilitated Staking.

The Staking Provider will be the node operator and will be obligated to operate the validators through which the Trust’s Ether is staked to ensure that validation occurs. The Staking Provider would stake the Trust’s Ether directly from the Trust’s wallets administered by the Custodian and perform any related validation activities, and the Trust will retain control of its staked Ether, retaining the ability to un-stake its Ether from the applicable smart contract. The Trust’s Ether will therefore not be commingled with the Ether of any other Ether holder, either with respect to the particular wallet that controls it or the validator that utilizes it, including the Staking Provider or the Staking Provider’s other customers and would not be controllable by any entity other than the Trust even when staked. The Trust will not itself undertake any validation activities, and the Sponsor will not be required to perform any services. Moreover, the Sponsor will not be required to make any decisions or take any actions, other than (i) selecting the Staking Providers and entering into the corresponding Staking Arrangements, and (ii) determining, from time to time, what portion of the Trust’s Ether tokens to stake and un-stake, and informing the Staking Providers of those determinations.

The Sponsor anticipates that it will instruct a Staking Provider to stake the substantial majority of the Trust’s Ether at all times. The Trust’s Ether would be un-staked (or not staked in the first instance) only (i) as necessary to pay the Sponsor’s Fee, (ii) to pay any additional Trust expenses, (iii) to be able to satisfy existing and reasonably foreseen potential redemption requests (assuming the Trust is then permitted to operate an ongoing redemption program), (iv) to reduce the Ether obtained by the Trust as Staking Consideration to cash for distribution at regular intervals, (v) if the Sponsor determines that Staking raises significant governmental, policy or regulatory concerns, (vi) if the Sponsor determines there exist vulnerabilities in the source code or

 

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cryptography underlying the Ethereum Network, (vii) if the Custodian or Staking Provider discontinues their arrangements with the Trust, (viii) if the Sponsor otherwise determines that continued Staking of such portion of the Trust’s assets would be inconsistent with the Trust’s purpose of protecting and preserving the value of the Trust Estate, or (ix) in accordance with any other exception that is expressly contemplated by an opinion or ruling that satisfies the Staking Condition. Ether received by the Trust in connection with the creation of new Shares, or as staking rewards, must also be staked upon receipt by the Trust, except as required to not be staked in the first instance pursuant to the exceptions described in clauses (i)-(ix) above. Moreover, any staked Ether which must be un-staked in order to fulfill a distribution in connection with a redemption (to the extent such distribution cannot be fulfilled utilizing the portion of the Trust’s Ether that has not been staked) will be un-staked only after the redemption request is approved by the Trust, the Sponsor executes an un-stake or withdrawal transaction, and such transaction is processed by the Ethereum Network. The Staking Provider will not be able to change the address on the Ethereum Network to which staked Ether is to be withdrawn or to which Ether rewards shall be sent.

Under the Staking Arrangements, any staking rewards and/or transaction fees earned will be paid automatically on a periodic basis by the Ethereum Network to one or more designated wallet addresses in the Trust’s custodial account, as specified by the Sponsor on behalf of the Trust. Periodically, the Trust will either (i) distribute Ether received as Staking Consideration to the Trust’s beneficiaries (likely using a liquidating agent), (ii) sell that Ether for cash and distribute the proceeds to the Trust’s beneficiaries, (iii) retain the Ether in the Trust or (iv) a combination of the foregoing. Subject to any slashing risk, the Trust (through the Custodian) will maintain control and remain the record and beneficial owner of the staked tokens at all times, and the tokens will remain associated with the Trust’s wallet.

The Staking Arrangements are expected to generally be on market terms, consistent with those typically offered by leading digital asset firms that offer staking functionality. However, the Trust will negotiate certain provisions as necessary or helpful to preserve the Trust’s status as a grantor trust and the security of the Trust’s Ether, as well as to address governmental, policy or regulatory concerns. For example, unlike certain digital asset firms that offer staking functionality through which a customer’s Ether is pooled with that of other customers (including, potentially, the Staking Provider in its general staking offerings), the Staking Arrangements would not permit the Trust’s Ether to be pooled with that of other Ether holders, including the Staking Provider or the Staking Provider’s other customers, as described above. In addition, the Staking Provider’s compensation is expected to be an agreed percentage of block rewards and transaction fees generated by the validating activities, unlike certain alternative staking arrangements under which a staking provider may be compensated as an agreed percentage of Ether staked.

The Trust will have no right to direct the Staking Provider in the conduct of validation activities, except to stake, un-stake and withdraw its staked Ether, and will not bear any expenses incurred by the Staking Provider in conducting those activities. In particular, the amount of any Staking Consideration that the Trust receives will not be determined with reference to any expenses incurred by the Custodian or the Staking Provider. The Staking Arrangements will not include any obligation of the Trust to continue staking its Ether, or for the Custodian or the Staking Provider to continue the Staking Arrangements, other than to the extent the Trust’s Ether cannot immediately be un-staked due to requirements of the Ethereum protocol. There may also be instances where the Staking Provider may pause or terminate its staking activities due to its own independent assessment of the vulnerabilities of the Ethereum Network which would result in the Trust’s Ether not being staked for a period of time. The Sponsor anticipates that the Ethereum protocol and the Staking Arrangements will permit withdrawal of staked Ether at regular intervals. The Sponsor believes that market practice for Provider-Facilitated Staking arrangements has largely become standardized, with little variation in terms, and therefore, the Sponsor anticipates that the Staking Arrangements will generally align with the current practice of Staking Providers’ arrangements with other similarly situated third parties, subject to the negotiation of certain bespoke terms outlined above. Accordingly, and because transitioning to a new Staking Provider would involve friction costs, the Sponsor does not expect the Trust to change Staking Providers frequently, if at all. In addition, while the Trust may enter into Staking Arrangements with multiple Staking Providers, the Sponsor anticipates that any

 

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such arrangements would be substantively identical in all material respects to the Staking Arrangements described in this prospectus, including, for the avoidance of doubt, the bespoke terms of the Staking Arrangements outlined above. Any material deviation from the Staking Arrangements as described in this prospectus would be disclosed in the Trust’s subsequent filings with the Commission.

The Staking Arrangements will not involve a disposition of the Trust’s Ether unless the Staking Provider commits a slash-worthy offense. Slashing would only occur if the Staking Provider fails to act timely and accurately in validating new transactions or takes other proscribed actions, and the occurrence of such events is exceedingly rare. In light of the mechanical and standardized nature of validation activities, the Sponsor does not anticipate that the Staking Provider, which is expected to be an institution of recognized and trusted standing in the digital asset marketplace, with whom the Sponsor has had extensive prior interaction, will commit any slash-worthy offenses in the conduct of the Provider-Facilitated Staking activities. While the Trust generally bears the risk of slashing if the Staking Provider were to commit a slash-worthy offense while the Trust’s Ether is staked, the Trust expects that the Staking Arrangements will include contractual commitments from the Staking Provider to the effect that, if any of the Trust’s Ether is slashed, the Staking Provider will (i) provide prompt notice to the Sponsor and (ii) deliver replacement Ether to the Sponsor up to a cap (the “indemnity cap”). The Sponsor will have the right to direct the Staking Provider to cease staking the Trust’s Ether at any time, subject to the extent the Trust’s Ether cannot immediately be un-staked due to technical considerations, and the Sponsor expects that notice of any slashing event will be timely and permit the Sponsor to halt the staking of the Trust’s Ether before the indemnity cap is reached, thereby mitigating the risk of permanent loss of the Trust’s Ether without replacement.

Security and Controls

The Trust’s Custodian has multiple layers of security protocols designed to protect the Trust’s assets from unauthorized access or transfer, which will remain in place when the Trust’s Ether is staked.

The Trust’s Ether will be staked directly from the Trust’s wallets and will not be transferred to any other wallet to be staked. The smart contract that governs staking on the Ethereum Network (a) mandates that the executor of the staking transaction (i.e., the Sponsor on behalf of the Trust) can execute the withdraw function at any time through the Trust’s wallets administered by the Custodian and (b) limits the activities of the Staking Provider to executing only those activities specified by the smart contract, such as staking, un-staking and performing validation activities. Accordingly, the Staking Provider will not have any control over the Trust’s staked Ether other than to stake or un-stake Ether at the direction of the Sponsor. In particular, the Staking Provider will not be authorized to leverage or rehypothecate the Trust’s Ether tokens. The Staking Provider will also not be able to change the designated wallet addresses on the Ethereum Network to which staked Ether is to be withdrawn or to which Ether rewards shall be sent.

In addition, the proposed Staking Arrangements will not alter the Trust’s current custody environment or security procedures. The Sponsor expects that the Staking Arrangements will serve as an addendum to the Custodial Services Agreement between the Trust and the Custodian, and the controls currently in place between the Sponsor and the Custodian will also govern the activities related to staking and un-staking Ether, as outlined in the Staking Arrangements. These controls and procedures include:

 

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Private Key Management (“Shards”): The Custodian manages Ether for the Trust using offline storage, or cold storage, which means that the keys to the Trust’s Ether are disconnected and/or deleted entirely from the internet. Transfers from the Trust’s wallet require compliance with certain security procedures that will remain in place when the Trust’s Ether is staked, including but not limited to, multiple encrypted private key “shards,” usernames, passwords and 2-step verification. Multiple private key shards held by the Custodian must be combined to reconstitute the private key to sign any transaction and transfer the Trust’s assets. Private key shards are distributed geographically in secure vaults around the world, including in the United States. The Custodian’s system architecture requires the involvement of the Sponsor to reconstruct the private keys and access the Trust’s assets, and it is

 

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not possible for the Custodian’s employees to access the Trust’s assets without the Sponsor’s involvement and approval. This architecture is part of the Custodian’s service organizational controls (“SOC”) Type I and Type II reports, which are authored by leading assurance providers to confirm to the Custodian’s clients that the Custodian is compliant with a variety of security and reporting standards, and which are delivered to the Sponsor for review on an annual basis.

 

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General Controls on the Custodian’s Custody Environment: Data related to transaction activity executed on the Custodian’s platform is backed-up and saved to both an alternative location (besides the primary location) and to a “Disaster Recovery” Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) Account to enable recoverability in an event one of the regions becomes unavailable. Authentication requirements for the Custodian’s platform are restricted through two-factor authentication and encrypted network protocols, among others.

 

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User Entity Controls: In addition to security controls in place at the Custodian, the Sponsor expects to implement additional controls and procedures, including, but not limited to, (i) reviewing the Custodian’s SOC report to ensure private key management and other general controls are consistently applied and operating without exceptions, (ii) periodically reviewing Sponsor team members’ access to the custodial wallet environment to ensure appropriateness, and (iii) reviewing the Custodian’s third party management control.

The Sponsor also reviews the SOC report for one of the key sub-service providers, AWS, including specifically sections related to availability, security and confidentiality. Under its third party risk management framework, the Sponsor also performs other ongoing monitoring of the Custodian, including the completion of an assessment of the Custodian’s cybersecurity controls. In addition, the Sponsor expects to screen all eligible Staking Providers in a manner consistent with its practices in screening eligible custodians, including, but not limited to, by (i) conducting initial and, thereafter, annual reviews of the Staking Provider’s SOC report to assess controls relevant to the staking services environment, (ii) conducting initial and, thereafter, annual reviews of the SOC reports of the Staking Provider’s cloud-based infrastructure service provider (for example, AWS) covering availability, security and confidentiality principles to ensure necessary controls governing continued service and “uptime” (i.e., the ratio of signatures provided by the Staking Provider to the total number of signatures it should have provided during a given time period), (iii) reviewing authority levels and access rights within the Staking Provider’s staking services environment, and (iv) performing other ongoing diligence procedures, including periodic assessments of the Staking Provider’s cybersecurity policies and controls, monitoring the Staking Provider’s online environment for major security events and periodic discussions with the Staking Provider’s client-facing teams regarding new company initiatives.

See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to Staking.”

Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency

On July 29, 2019, the Sponsor delivered to the Custodian a notice (the “Pre-Creation Abandonment Notice”) stating that the Trust is abandoning irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, effective immediately prior to each time at which the Trust creates Shares (any such time, a “Creation Time”), all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be entitled as of such time. On     , the Trust delivered a supplemental notice (as supplemented from time to time, the “Pre Redemption Abandonment Notice” and, together with the Pre-Creation Abandonment Notice, the “Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notices”) to the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit providing that the Trust also will abandon irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, effective immediately prior to each time at which the Trust redeems Shares (any such time, a “Redemption Time”), all Incidental Right or IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be entitled as of such time. An abandonment made pursuant to a Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notice is referred to herein as a “Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment.” Pursuant to the Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notices, a Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment would not apply to any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency if (i) the Trust has taken, or is taking at such time, an “Affirmative Action” to acquire or

 

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abandon such Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency at any time prior to the relevant Creation Time or Redemption Time or (ii) such Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency has been subject to a previous Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment. An Affirmative Action refers to a written notification from the Sponsor to the Prime Broker, the Custodian or Coinbase Credit of the Trust’s intention (i) to acquire and/or retain an Incidental Right and/or IR Virtual Currency or (ii) to abandon, with effect prior to the relevant Creation Time or Redemption Time, an Incidental Right and/or IR Virtual Currency.

As a result of the Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notices, since July 29, 2019, the Trust has irrevocably abandoned, prior to the Creation Time of any Shares (and, after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, prior to the Redemption Time of any Shares), any Incidental Right or IR Virtual Currency that it may have any right to receive at such time. The Trust has no right to receive any Incidental Right or IR Virtual Currency abandoned pursuant to either the Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notices or Affirmative Actions. Furthermore, the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit have no authority, pursuant to the Prime Broker Agreement or otherwise, to exercise, obtain or hold, as the case may be, any such abandoned Incidental Right or IR Virtual Currency on behalf of the Trust or to transfer any such abandoned Incidental Right or IR Virtual Currency to the Trust if the Trust terminates its custodial arrangement with the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit. In addition, the Sponsor has committed to cause the Trust not to take any Affirmative Action to acquire any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency, thereby irrevocably abandoning any Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust may become entitled in the future.

Because the Sponsor has now committed to causing the Trust to irrevocably abandon all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust otherwise would become entitled in the future, and causing the Trust not to take any Affirmative Actions, the Trust will not receive any direct or indirect consideration for the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency and thus the value of the Shares will not reflect the value of the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency. In addition, in the event the Sponsor seeks to change the Trust’s policy with respect to Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency, an application would need to be filed with the SEC by NYSE Arca seeking approval to amend its listing rules to permit the Trust to distribute the Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency in-kind to an agent of the shareholders for resale by such agent. However, there can be no assurance as to whether or when the Sponsor would make such a decision, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain this approval, if at all. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Trust and the Shares—Shareholders will not receive the benefits of any forks or airdrops.”

The Sponsor has controls in place to monitor for material hard forks or airdrops. The Sponsor will notify investors of any material change to its policy with respect to Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency by filing a current report on Form 8-K.

For purposes of the foregoing:

 

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“Creation Time”—With respect to the creation of any Shares by the Trust, the time at which the Trust creates such Shares.

 

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“Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment”—The abandonment by the Trust, irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust would otherwise be entitled, effective immediately prior to a Creation Time or a Redemption Time (as the case may be) for the Trust.

 

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“Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notice”—A notice, as supplemented from time to time, delivered by the Sponsor to the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit, on behalf of the Trust, stating that the Trust is abandoning irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, effective immediately prior to each Creation Time or Redemption Time (as the case may be), all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be entitled as of such time and with respect to which the Trust has not taken any Affirmative Action at or prior to such time.

 

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“Redemption Time”—With respect to the redemption of any Shares by the Trust, the time at which the Trust redeems such Shares.

 

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Book-Entry Form

Shares are held primarily in book-entry form by the Transfer Agent. The Sponsor or its delegate directs the Transfer Agent to credit or debit, as applicable, the number of Baskets to the applicable Authorized Participant. The Transfer Agent issues or cancels Baskets, as applicable. Transfers will be made in accordance with standard securities industry practice. The Sponsor may cause the Trust to issue Shares in certificated form in limited circumstances in its sole discretion.

Share Splits

In its discretion, the Sponsor may direct the Transfer Agent to declare a split or reverse split in the number of Shares outstanding and to make a corresponding change in the number of Shares constituting a Basket. For example, if the Sponsor believes that the per Share price in the secondary market for Shares has risen or fallen outside a desirable trading price range, it may declare such a split or reverse split.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CREATION AND REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The following is a description of the material terms of the Trust Documents as they relate to the creation and redemption of the Trust’s Shares on an ongoing basis.

General

The Trust issues Shares to and redeems Shares from Authorized Participants on an ongoing basis, but only in one or more Baskets (with a Basket being a block of 10,000 Shares). The Trust will not issue fractions of a Basket. The Sponsor believes that the creation and redemption order size of 10,000 Shares will enable Authorized Participants to manage inventory and facilitate an effective arbitrage mechanism for the Trust. However, the Sponsor may in the future adjust the creation and redemption order size in order to improve the effectiveness of the activities of Authorized Participants in the secondary market for the Shares if the Sponsor determines it to be necessary or advisable. As of April 19, 2024, 94.804817 Ether are required to create a Basket, or 10,000 Shares, or less than 0.01% of the number of Ether traded each day on average. As such, the Sponsor does not expect that the size of the Baskets will have an impact on the arbitrage mechanism.

The creation and redemption of Baskets will be made only upon the delivery to the Trust, or the distribution or other disposition by the Trust, of the number of whole and fractional Ether represented by each Basket being created or redeemed, which is determined by dividing (x) the number of Ether owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date of a creation or redemption order, after deducting the number of Ether representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust (converted using the Index Price at such time, and carried to the eighth decimal place), by (y) the number of Shares outstanding at such time (with the quotient so obtained calculated to one one-hundred-millionth of one Ether (i.e., carried to the eighth decimal place)), and multiplying such quotient by 10,000 (the “Basket Amount”). The U.S. dollar value of a Basket is calculated by multiplying the Basket Amount by the Index Price as of the trade date (the “Basket NAV”). The Basket NAV multiplied by the number of Baskets being created or redeemed is referred to as the “Total Basket NAV.” All questions as to the calculation of the Basket Amount will be conclusively determined by the Sponsor and will be final and binding on all persons interested in the Trust. One or more major market data vendors may provide an intra-day indicative value (“IIV”) per Share updated every 15 seconds, as calculated by NYSE Arca or a third-party financial data provider during NYSE Arca’s Core Trading Session (9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., New York time). Such IIV will be calculated using the same methodology as the NAV per Share of the Trust, specifically by using the prior day’s closing NAV per Share as a base and updating that value during the NYSE Arca Core Trading Session to reflect changes in the value of the Trust’s NAV during the trading day. The IIV on a per Share basis disseminated during the Core Trading Session should not be viewed as a real-time update of the NAV, which is calculated once a day. The number of Ether represented by a Share will gradually decrease over time as the Trust’s Ether are used to pay the Trust’s expenses. As of December 31, 2023 each Share represented approximately 0.0096 Ether.

Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create and redeem Baskets. Each Authorized Participant must (i) be a registered broker-dealer and (ii) enter into a Participant Agreement with the Sponsor and the Transfer Agent. Subject to In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future any Authorized Participants creating and redeeming Shares through In-Kind Orders must also own an Ether wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to the Authorized Participant and maintain an account with the Custodian (or if the Authorized Participant does not itself trade in Ether, a designee of such Authorized Participant (each, an “AP Designee”) must own an Ether wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to such AP Designee and maintain an account with the Custodian).

An Authorized Participant may act for its own account or as agent for broker-dealers, custodians and other securities market participants that wish to create or redeem Baskets. Shareholders who are not Authorized Participants will only be able to create or redeem their Shares through an Authorized Participant.

 

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The creation of Baskets requires the delivery to the Trust of the Total Basket Amount (or cash to acquire the Total Basket Amount) and the redemption of Baskets requires the distribution or other disposition by the Trust of the Total Basket Amount. Although the Trust creates Baskets only upon the receipt of Ether, and redeems Baskets only by distributing or otherwise disposing of Ether, at this time an Authorized Participant can only submit Cash Orders, pursuant to which the Authorized Participant will deposit cash into, or accept cash from, a segregated account maintained by the Transfer Agent in the name of the Trust for purposes of receiving and distributing cash in connection with the creation and redemption of Baskets (such account, the “Cash Account”).

Cash Orders will be facilitated by the Transfer Agent and Grayscale Investments, LLC. On an order-by-order basis, Grayscale Investments, LLC, acting in its capacity as Liquidity Engager, will engage one or more Liquidity Providers to obtain or receive Ether in exchange for cash in connection with such order, as described in more detail below. Each Liquidity Provider must enter into a Liquidity Provider Agreement with the Liquidity Engager and the Sponsor (on behalf of the Trust), which will obligate it to obtain or receive Ether in connection with creations and redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders.

Unless the Sponsor requires that a Cash Order be effected at actual execution prices (an “Actual Execution Cash Order”), each Authorized Participant that submits a Cash Order to create or redeem Baskets will pay a fee (the “Variable Fee”) based on the Total Basket NAV (a “Variable Fee Cash Order”), and any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in acquiring or disposing of the corresponding Total Basket Amount, as the case may be, will be borne solely by the Liquidity Provider until such Ether have been received or liquidated by the Trust. The Variable Fee is intended to cover all of a Liquidity Provider’s expenses in connection with the creation or redemption order, including any exchange fees that the Liquidity Provider incurs in connection with buying or selling Ether. The amount may be changed by the Sponsor in its sole discretion at any time, and Liquidity Providers will communicate to the Sponsor in advance the Variable Fee they would be willing to accept in connection with a Variable Fee Cash Order, based on market conditions and other factors existing at the time of such Variable Fee Cash Order. See “—Creation Procedures—Variable Fee Cash Orders” and “—Redemption Procedures—Variable Fee Cash Orders.”

Alternatively, the Sponsor may require that a Cash Order be effected as an Actual Execution Cash Order, in its sole discretion based on market conditions and other factors existing at the time of such Cash Order, and under such circumstances, any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in acquiring or disposing of the corresponding Total Basket Amount, as the case may be, will be borne solely by the Authorized Participant until such Ether have been received or liquidated by the Trust. See “—Creation Procedures—Actual Execution Cash Orders” and “—Redemption Procedures—Actual Execution Cash Orders.”

In the case of creations pursuant to Cash Orders, to transfer the Total Basket Amount to the Trust’s Vault Balance, the Liquidity Provider will transfer Ether to one of the public key addresses associated with the Vault Balance and as provided by the Sponsor. In the case of redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders, the same procedure is conducted, but in reverse, using the public key addresses associated with the wallet of the Liquidity Provider, and as provided by such party. All such transactions will be conducted on the Blockchain and parties acknowledge and agree that such transfers may be irreversible if done incorrectly. See “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares—ETH transactions are irrevocable and stolen or incorrectly transferred ETH may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed ETH transactions could adversely affect the value of the Shares” in the Annual Report.

In common with other spot digital asset exchange-traded products, the Trust is not at this time able to create and redeem shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants, and there has yet to be definitive regulatory guidance on whether and how registered broker-dealers can hold and deal in Ether in compliance with the federal securities laws. Subject to In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future the Trust may also create and redeem Baskets via In-Kind Orders, pursuant to which an Authorized Participant or its AP Designee would deposit Ether directly with the Trust or receive Ether directly from the Trust. However, because In-Kind Regulatory Approval

 

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has not been obtained, at this time Baskets will not be created or redeemed through In-Kind Orders and will only be created or redeemed through Cash Orders. There can be no assurance as to when such regulatory clarity will emerge, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain such regulatory approval, if at all. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares—The lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares could have adverse consequences for the Trust.”

Authorized Participants do not pay a transaction fee to the Trust in connection with the creation or redemption of Baskets, but there may be transaction fees associated with the validation of the transfer of Ether by the Ethereum Network, which will be paid by the Custodian in the case of redemptions and the Authorized Participant, its AP Designee or the Liquidity Provider in the case of creations. Service providers may charge Authorized Participants or AP Designees administrative fees for order placement and other services related to the creation of Baskets. As discussed above, Authorized Participants will also pay the Variable Fee in connection with Variable Fee Cash Orders. As discussed in further detail below under “—Creation Procedures—Actual Execution Cash Orders” and “—Redemption Procedures—Actual Execution Cash Orders”, under certain circumstances Authorized Participants may also be required to deposit additional cash in the Cash Account, or be entitled to receive excess cash from the Cash Account, in connection with creations and redemptions pursuant to Actual Execution Cash Orders. Authorized Participants will receive no fees, commissions or other form of compensation or inducement of any kind from either the Sponsor or the Trust and no such person has any obligation or responsibility to the Sponsor or the Trust to effect any sale or resale of Shares.

The Participant Agreements and the related procedures attached thereto may be amended by the Sponsor and the relevant Authorized Participant. Under the Participant Agreements, the Sponsor has agreed to indemnify each Authorized Participant against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

The following description of the procedures for the creation and redemption of Baskets is only a summary and shareholders should refer to the relevant provisions of the Trust Agreement and the form of Participant Agreement for more detail.

Creation Procedures

On any business day, an Authorized Participant may place an order with the Transfer Agent to create one or more Baskets. Cash Orders for creation must be placed with the Transfer Agent no later than 1:59:59 p.m., New York time (the “Order Cutoff Time”).

The Sponsor may in its sole discretion limit the number of Shares created pursuant to Cash Orders on any specified day without notice to the Authorized Participants and may direct the Marketing Agent to reject any Cash Orders in excess of such capped amount. In exercising its discretion to limit the number of Shares created pursuant to Cash Orders, the Sponsor expects to take into consideration a number of factors, including (i) the availability of Liquidity Providers to facilitate Cash Orders and (ii) to the extent In-Kind Regulatory Approval has been obtained, the cost of processing Cash Orders relative to the cost of processing In-Kind Orders. If the Sponsor decides to limit Cash Orders and the Trust is otherwise unable to satisfy creation orders made in cash, the Trust’s ability to create new Shares could be negatively impacted or, if In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained as of such time, would be unavailable, which could impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at premiums to the NAV per Share, and otherwise have a negative impact on the value of the Shares. In addition, if the Sponsor decides to limit Cash Orders at a time when the Shares are trading at a premium to the NAV per Share, and In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained as of such time or the in-kind creation is otherwise unavailable for any reason, the arbitrage mechanism may fail to effectively function, which could impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at premiums to the NAV per Share, and otherwise have a negative impact on the value of the Shares. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares—The lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares could have adverse consequences for the Trust.”

 

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Creations pursuant to Cash Orders will take place as follows, where “T” is the trade date and each day in the sequence must be a business day. Before a creation order is placed, the Sponsor determines if such creation order will be a Variable Fee Cash Order or an Actual Execution Cash Order, which determination is communicated to the Authorized Participant.

 

Trade Date (T)		Settlement Date (T+1, or T+2, as established at the time of order placement)
•  The Authorized Participant places a creation order with the Transfer Agent.   •  The Marketing Agent accepts (or rejects) the creation order, which is communicated to the Authorized Participant by the Transfer Agent.   •  The Sponsor notifies the Liquidity Provider of the creation order.   •  The Sponsor determines the Total Basket NAV and any Variable Fee and Additional Creation Cash as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m., New York time.		•  The Authorized Participant delivers to the Cash Account:   (x) in the case of a Variable Fee Cash Order, the Total Basket NAV, plus any Variable Fee; or   (y) in the case of an Actual Execution Cash Order, the Total Basket NAV, plus any Additional Creation Cash, less any Excess Creation Cash, if applicable   (such amount, as applicable, the “Required Creation Cash”).   •  The Liquidity Provider transfers the Total Basket Amount to the Trust’s Vault Balance.   •  Once the Trust is in simultaneous possession of (x) the Total Basket Amount and (y) the Required Creation Cash, the Trust issues the aggregate number of Shares corresponding to the Baskets ordered by the Authorized Participant, which the Transfer Agent holds for the benefit of the Authorized Participant.   •  Cash equal to the Required Creation Cash is delivered to the Liquidity Provider from the Cash Account.   •  The Transfer Agent delivers Shares to the Authorized Participant by crediting the number of Baskets created to the Authorized Participant’s DTC account.

Variable Fee Cash Orders

Unless the Sponsor determines otherwise in its sole discretion based on market conditions and other factors existing at the time of such Cash Order, all creations pursuant to Cash Orders are expected to be executed as Variable Fee Cash Orders, and any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in acquiring the corresponding Total Basket Amount will be borne solely by the Liquidity Provider until such Ether have been received by the Trust.

The Sponsor anticipates that the Trust’s cost to acquire the Total Basket Amount in connection with a Variable Fee Cash Order will equal the sum of the corresponding Total Basket NAV and Variable Fee to be delivered by the Authorized Participant to the Trust. In the event that, by 12:00 p.m., New York time on the settlement date of a creation pursuant to a Variable Fee Cash Order, either (x) the Trust’s Vault Balance has not been credited with Ether in an amount equal to the Total Basket Amount or (y) the Cash Account has not been credited with the Total Basket NAV, plus any Variable Fee, such Cash Order will be deemed a failed trade, with any consideration that has been delivered by the Authorized Participant or the Liquidity Provider in respect of such Cash Order being returned by the Trust.

 

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The Transfer Agent shall under no circumstances cause the Trust to issue Shares in respect of a Variable Fee Cash Order until such time as each of (x) the Total Basket Amount and (y) the Total Basket NAV, plus any Variable Fee, has been delivered to the Trust, and the Trust is in simultaneous possession of both.

Actual Execution Cash Orders

With respect to a creation pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, as between the Trust and an Authorized Participant, the Authorized Participant is responsible for the dollar cost of the difference between the Ether price utilized in calculating Total Basket NAV on the trade date and the price at which the Trust acquires the Ether on the settlement date. If the price realized in acquiring the corresponding Total Basket Amount is higher than the Total Basket NAV, the Authorized Participant will bear the dollar cost of such difference by delivering cash in the amount of such difference (the “Additional Creation Cash”) to the Cash Account. If the price realized in acquiring the corresponding Total Basket Amount is lower than the Total Basket NAV, the Authorized Participant will benefit from such difference, with the Trust promptly returning cash in the amount of such excess (the “Excess Creation Cash”) to the Authorized Participant.

In the event that, by 12:00 p.m., New York time on the settlement date of a creation pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, either (x) the Trust’s Vault Balance has not been credited with Ether in an amount equal to the Total Basket Amount or (y) the Cash Account has not been credited with the Total Basket NAV (net of any Additional Creation Cash or Excess Creation Cash, if applicable), such Cash Order will be deemed a failed trade, with any consideration that has been delivered by the Authorized Participant or the Liquidity Provider in respect of such Cash Order being returned by the Trust.

The Transfer Agent shall under no circumstances cause the Trust to issue Shares in respect of a Cash Order until such time as each of (x) the Total Basket Amount and (y) the Total Basket NAV (net of any Additional Creation Cash or Excess Creation Cash, if applicable) has been delivered to the Trust, and the Trust is in simultaneous possession of both.

Redemption Procedures

The procedures by which an Authorized Participant can redeem one or more Baskets mirror the procedures for the creation of Baskets. On any business day, an Authorized Participant may place a redemption order specifying the number of Baskets to be redeemed.

The redemption of Shares pursuant to Cash Orders will only take place if approved by the Sponsor in writing, in its sole discretion and on a case-by-case basis. In exercising its discretion to approve the redemption of Shares pursuant to Cash Orders, the Sponsor expects to take into consideration a number of factors, including (i) the availability of Liquidity Providers to facilitate Cash Orders and (ii) to the extent In-Kind Regulatory Approval has been obtained, the cost of processing Cash Orders relative to the cost of processing In-Kind Orders. If the Sponsor decides to limit Cash Orders and the Trust is unable to satisfy redemption orders made in cash, the Trust’s ability to redeem new Shares could be negatively impacted or, if In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained as of such time, would be unavailable, which could impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at discounts, and could have a negative impact on the value of the Shares. In addition, if the Sponsor decides to limit Cash Orders at a time when the Shares are trading at a discount to the NAV per Share, and In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained as of such time or the in-kind redemption of Shares is otherwise unavailable, the arbitrage mechanism may fail to effectively function, which could impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at discounts to the NAV per Share, and otherwise have a negative impact on the value of the Shares. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares—The lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares could have adverse consequences for the Trust.”

Cash Orders for redemption must be placed no later than 1:59:59 p.m., New York time on each business day. The Authorized Participants may only redeem Baskets and cannot redeem any Shares in an amount less than a Basket.

 

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Redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders will take place as follows, where “T” is the trade date and each day in the sequence must be a business day. Before a redemption order is placed, the Sponsor determines if such redemption order will be a Variable Fee Cash Order or an Actual Execution Cash Order, which determination is communicated to the Authorized Participant.

 

Trade Date (T)		Settlement Date (T+1 (or T+2 on case-by-case basis, as approved by Sponsor))
•  The Authorized Participant places a redemption order with the Transfer Agent.   •  The Marketing Agent accepts (or rejects) the redemption order, which is communicated to the Authorized Participant by the Transfer Agent.   •  The Sponsor notifies the Liquidity Provider of the redemption order.   •  The Sponsor determines the Total Basket NAV and, in the case of a Variable Fee Cash Order, any Variable Fee, as soon as practicable after 4:00 p.m., New York time.		•  The Authorized Participant delivers Baskets to be redeemed from its DTC account to the Transfer Agent.   •  The Liquidity Provider delivers to the Cash Account:   (x) in the case of a Variable Fee Cash Order, the Total Basket NAV less any Variable Fee; or   (y) in the case of an Actual Execution Cash Order, the actual proceeds to the Trust from the liquidation of the Total Basket Amount (such amount, as applicable, the “Required Redemption Cash”).   •  Once the Trust is in simultaneous possession of (x) the Total Basket Amount and (y) the Required Redemption Cash, the Transfer Agent cancels the Shares comprising the number of Baskets redeemed by the Authorized Participant.   •  The Custodian sends the Liquidity Provider the Total Basket Amount, and cash equal to the Required Redemption Cash is delivered to the Authorized Participant from the Cash Account.

Variable Fee Cash Orders

Unless the Sponsor determines otherwise in its sole discretion based on market conditions and other factors existing at the time of such Cash Order, all redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders are expected to be executed as Variable Fee Cash Orders, and any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in disposing of the corresponding Total Basket Amount will be borne solely by the Liquidity Provider.

The Sponsor anticipates that the Trust’s proceeds from liquidating the Total Basket Amount in connection with a Variable Fee Cash Order will equal the corresponding Total Basket NAV less the Variable Fee to be delivered by the Liquidity Provider to the Trust. In the event that, by 12:00 p.m. (New York time) on the settlement date of a redemption pursuant to a Variable Fee Cash Order, either (x) the Transfer Agent’s account at DTC has not been credited with the total number of Shares corresponding to the total number of Baskets to be redeemed or (y) the Cash Account has not been credited with the Total Basket NAV, less any Variable Fee, such Cash Order will be deemed a failed trade, with any consideration that has been delivered by the Authorized Participant or the Liquidity Provider in respect of such Cash Order being returned by the Trust.

The Transfer Agent shall under no circumstances deliver the Required Redemption Cash to the Authorized Participant in respect of a Variable Fee Cash Order until such time as (x) the Baskets to be redeemed have been delivered to the Transfer Agent and (y) the Total Basket NAV, less any Variable Fee, has been delivered to the Cash Account, and the Trust and/or the Transfer Agent is in simultaneous possession of both.

 

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Actual Execution Cash Orders

With respect to a redemption pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, as between the Trust and an Authorized Participant, the Authorized Participant is responsible for the dollar cost of the difference between the Ether price utilized in calculating Total Basket NAV on the trade date and the price at which the Trust disposes of the Ether on the settlement date. If the price realized in disposing the corresponding Total Basket Amount on the settlement date is lower than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date, the Authorized Participant will bear the dollar cost of such difference (the “Redemption Cash Shortfall”), with the amount of cash to be delivered to the Authorized Participant being reduced by the amount of such Redemption Cash Shortfall. If the price realized in disposing the corresponding Total Basket Amount on the settlement date is higher than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date, the Trust will deliver cash in the amount of such excess (the “Additional Redemption Cash”) to the Authorized Participant.

In the event that, by 12:00 p.m. (New York time) on the settlement date of a redemption pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, either (x) the Transfer Agent’s account at DTC has not been credited with the total number of Shares corresponding to the total number of Baskets to be redeemed or (y) the Cash Account has not been credited with the Total Basket NAV (plus any Additional Redemption Cash or net of any Redemption Cash Shortfall), such Cash Order will be deemed a failed trade, with any consideration that has been delivered by the Authorized Participant or the Liquidity Provider in respect of such Cash Order being returned by the Trust.

The Transfer Agent shall under no circumstances deliver the Required Redemption Cash to the Authorized Participant in respect of a Cash Order until such time as (x) the Total Basket Amount has been delivered to the Transfer Agent and (y) the Total Basket NAV (plus any Additional Redemption Cash or net of any Redemption Cash Shortfall, if applicable) has been delivered to the Trust, and the Trust and/or the Transfer Agent is in simultaneous possession of both.

Suspension or Rejection of Orders and Total Basket Amount

The creation or redemption of Shares may be suspended generally, or refused with respect to particular requested creations or redemptions, during any period when the transfer books of the Transfer Agent are closed or if circumstances outside the control of the Sponsor or its delegates make it for all practical purposes not feasible to process creation orders or redemption orders or for any other reason at any time or from time to time. The Marketing Agent may reject an order or, after accepting an order, may cancel such order, if: (i) such order is not presented in proper form as described in the Participant Agreement, (ii) to the extent In-Kind Regulatory Approval has been obtained, in the case of In-Kind Orders, the transfer of the Total Basket Amount comes from an account other than an Ether wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to the Authorized Participant or its AP Designee or (iii) the fulfillment of the order, in the opinion of counsel, might be unlawful, among other reasons. None of the Sponsor or its delegates will be liable for the suspension, rejection or acceptance of any creation order or redemption order.

The Sponsor will notify investors of any suspension of creations or redemptions of Shares by filing a current report on Form 8-K. Suspension of the creation or redemption of Shares could negatively impact the Shares’ liquidity and/or cause the Shares to trade at premiums and discounts, and otherwise have a negative impact on the value of the Shares.

Tax Responsibility

Authorized Participants are responsible for any transfer tax, sales or use tax, stamp tax, recording tax, value-added tax or similar tax or governmental charge applicable to the creation and redemption of Baskets, regardless of whether such tax or charge is imposed directly on the Authorized Participant, and agree to indemnify the Sponsor and the Trust if the Sponsor or the Trust is required by law to pay any such tax, together with any applicable penalties, additions to tax or interest thereon.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES

The following discussion addresses the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership of Shares. Subject to the limitations and qualifications, and based on the assumptions described herein and in the opinion letter filed as Exhibit 8.1 to this registration statement, the statements of law and legal conclusions set forth in the following discussion constitute the opinion of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (“Davis Polk”) as to the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of Shares that generally may apply to a “U.S. Holder” or a “non-U.S. Holder” (in each case, as defined below). This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a beneficial owner of Shares in light of the beneficial owner’s particular circumstances, including tax consequences applicable to beneficial owners subject to special rules, such as:

 

•

financial institutions;

 

•

dealers in securities or commodities;

 

•

traders in securities or commodities that have elected to apply a mark-to-market method of tax accounting in respect thereof;

 

•

persons holding Shares as part of a hedge, “straddle,” integrated transaction or similar transaction;

 

•

Authorized Participants (as defined below);

 

•

U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;

 

•

entities or arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

•

real estate investment trusts;

 

•

regulated investment companies; and

 

•

tax-exempt entities, including individual retirement accounts.

This discussion applies only to Shares that are held as capital assets and does not address alternative minimum tax consequences or consequences of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income.

If an entity or arrangement that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds Shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding Shares and partners in those partnerships are urged to consult their tax advisers about the particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning Shares.

This discussion is based on the Code, administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations as of the date hereof, changes to any of which subsequent to the date hereof may affect the tax consequences described herein. For the avoidance of doubt, this summary does not discuss any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign taxing jurisdiction.

Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers about the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to their particular situations, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign taxing jurisdiction.

Tax Treatment of the Trust

The Sponsor intends to take the position that the Trust is properly treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Assuming that the Trust is a grantor trust, the Trust will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax. Rather, if the Trust is a grantor trust, each beneficial owner of Shares will be treated as directly owning its pro rata share of the Trust’s assets and a pro rata portion of the Trust’s income, gain, losses and deductions will “flow through” to each beneficial owner of Shares.

 

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Although not free from doubt due to the lack of authority directly addressing certain aspects of the Trust’s affairs, in the opinion of Davis Polk the Trust should be classified as a “grantor trust” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, there can be no complete assurance that the Trust will be treated as a grantor trust for those purposes. An opinion of counsel is not binding on the IRS or any court, and there are significant uncertainties regarding the application of existing authorities to certain aspects of Ether and the Trust.

In particular, the Trust has taken certain positions with respect to the tax consequences of Incidental Rights and its receipt of IR Virtual Currency. If the IRS were to disagree with, and successfully challenge, any of these positions, the Trust might not qualify as a grantor trust. The Sponsor has delivered the Pre-Creation/ Redemption Abandonment Notices to each of the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit, stating that the Trust is abandoning irrevocably, for no direct or indirect consideration, effective immediately prior to each Creation Time and Redemption Time, all Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be entitled as of such time and with respect to which it has not taken any Affirmative Action at or prior to such time. Prospectively, the Sponsor has committed to causing the Trust to irrevocably abandon all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust might otherwise become entitled. There can be no complete assurance that these abandonments will be treated as effective for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the Trust were treated as owning any asset other than Ether as of any date on which it creates or redeems Shares, it might cease to qualify as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

In addition, and in common with other spot digital asset exchange-traded products, at this time the Trust is not permitted to create or redeem Shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants. Unless and until In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained, Baskets will be created or redeemed only through Cash Orders. In general, investment vehicles intended to be treated as grantor trusts for U.S. federal income tax purposes historically have created additional trust interests only in kind, and there is no authority directly addressing whether a grantor trust may create or redeem trust interests under procedures similar to those that govern Cash Orders. Accordingly, there can be no complete assurance that the creation or redemption of Shares under the procedures governing Cash Orders will not cause the Trust to fail to qualify as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Moreover, because of the evolving nature of digital assets, it is not possible to predict potential future developments that may arise with respect to digital assets, including forks, airdrops and other similar occurrences. Assuming that the Trust is currently a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, certain future developments could render it impossible, or impracticable, for the Trust to continue to be treated as a grantor trust for such purposes.

If the Trust is not properly classified as a grantor trust, the Trust might be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. However, due to the uncertain treatment of digital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes, there can be no assurance in this regard. If the Trust were classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax consequences of owning Shares generally would not be materially different from the tax consequences described herein, although there might be certain differences, including with respect to timing of the recognition of taxable income or loss. In addition, tax information reports provided to beneficial owners of Shares would be made in a different form. If the Trust were not classified as either a grantor trust or a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it would be classified as a corporation for such purposes. In that event, the Trust would be subject to entity-level U.S. federal income tax (currently at the rate of 21%) on its net taxable income and certain distributions made by the Trust to shareholders would be treated as taxable dividends to the extent of the Trust’s current and accumulated earnings and profits. Any such dividend distributed to a beneficial owner of Shares that is a non-U.S. person for U.S. federal income tax purposes would be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as provided in an applicable tax treaty).

The remainder of this discussion is based on the assumption that the Trust will be treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

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Uncertainty Regarding the U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Digital Assets

Each beneficial owner of Shares will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the owner of an undivided interest in the Ether (and any Incidental Rights and/or IR Virtual Currency) held in the Trust. Due to the new and evolving nature of digital assets and the absence of comprehensive guidance with respect to digital assets, many significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of digital assets are uncertain.

In 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released a notice (the “Notice”) discussing certain aspects of the treatment of “convertible virtual currency” (that is, digital assets that have an equivalent value in fiat currency or that acts as substitutes for fiat currency) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In the Notice, the IRS stated that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such digital assets (i) are “property,” (ii) are not “currency” for purposes of the provisions of the Code relating to foreign currency gain or loss and (iii) may be held as a capital asset. In 2019, the IRS released a revenue ruling and a set of “Frequently Asked Questions” (the “Ruling & FAQs”) that provide some additional guidance, including guidance to the effect that, under certain circumstances, hard forks of digital assets are taxable events giving rise to ordinary income and guidance with respect to the determination of the tax basis of digital assets. However, the Notice and the Ruling & FAQs do not address other significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of digital assets. Moreover, although the Ruling & FAQs address the treatment of hard forks, there continues to be significant uncertainty with respect to the timing and amount of the income inclusions. While the Ruling & FAQs do not address most situations in which airdrops occur, it is clear from the reasoning of the Ruling & FAQs that the IRS generally would treat an airdrop as a taxable event giving rise to ordinary income.

There can be no assurance that the IRS will not alter its position with respect to digital assets in the future or that a court would uphold the treatment set forth in the Notice and the Ruling & FAQs. It is also unclear what additional guidance on the treatment of digital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be issued in the future. Any such alteration of the current IRS positions or additional guidance could result in adverse tax consequences for shareholders and could have an adverse effect on the prices of digital assets, including the price of Ether in the Digital Asset Market, and therefore could have an adverse effect on the value of Shares. Future developments that may arise with respect to digital assets may increase the uncertainty with respect to the treatment of digital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For example, the Notice addresses only digital assets that are “convertible virtual currency,” and it is conceivable that, as a result of a fork, airdrop or similar occurrence, a Trust will hold certain types of digital assets that are not within the scope of the Notice.

The remainder of this discussion assumes that Ether, and any Incidental Rights or IR Virtual Currency that the Trust may hold, is properly treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as property that may be held as a capital asset and that is not currency for purposes of the provisions of the Code relating to foreign currency gain and loss.

Shareholders are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the tax consequences of an investment in the Trust and in digital assets in general, including, in the case of shareholders that are generally exempt from U.S. federal income taxation, whether such shareholders may recognize “unrelated business taxable income” (“UBTI”) as a consequence of a fork, airdrop or similar occurrence.

Tax Consequences to U.S. Holders

As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of a Share for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is:

 

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an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

 

•

a corporation, or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or of any political subdivision thereof; or

 

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an estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source.

 

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Except as specifically noted, the discussion below assumes that each U.S. Holder will acquire all of its Shares on the same date for the same price per Share and solely for cash (or, if In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained in the future, solely for Ether that were originally acquired by the U.S. Holder for cash on the same date).

As discussed in the section entitled “Description of Creation and Redemption of Shares,” if In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained in the future, a U.S. Holder may be able to acquire Shares of the Trust by contributing Ether in kind to the Trust (either directly or through an Authorized Participant acting as agent of the U.S. Holder). Assuming that the Trust is properly treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such a contribution should not be a taxable event to the U.S. Holder.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each U.S. Holder will be treated as owning an undivided interest in the Ether held in the Trust and will be treated as directly realizing its pro rata share of the Trust’s income, gains, losses and deductions (including, if the Staking Condition is satisfied, any staking income). When a U.S. Holder purchases Shares solely for cash, (i) the U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust will be equal to the amount paid for the Shares and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s holding period for its pro rata share of such Ether will begin on the date of such purchase. If, in the future, In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained and a U.S. Holder acquires Shares in exchange for Ether, (i) the U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust would be equal to the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Ether that the U.S. Holder transferred to the Trust and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s holding period for its pro rata share of such Ether generally would include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the Ether that the U.S. Holder transferred to the Trust. The Ruling & FAQs confirm that if a taxpayer acquires tokens of a digital asset at different times and for different prices, the taxpayer has a separate tax basis in each lot of such tokens. Under the Ruling & FAQs, if, in the future, In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained and a U.S. Holder that owns more than one lot of Ether contributes a portion of its Ether to the Trust in exchange for Shares, the U.S. Holder could designate the lot(s) from which such contribution will be made, provided that the U.S. Holder is able to identify specifically which Ether it is contributing and to substantiate its tax basis in that Ether. In general, if a U.S. Holder acquires Shares solely for cash at different prices, the U.S. Holder’s share of the Trust’s Ether will consist of separate lots with separate tax bases. In addition, in this situation, the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the separate lots may be different.

When the Trust transfers Ether to the Sponsor as payment of the Sponsor’s Fee, or sells Ether to fund payment of any Additional Trust Expenses, each U.S. Holder will be treated as having sold its pro rata share of that Ether for their fair market value at that time (which, in the case of Ether sold by the Trust, generally will be equal to the cash proceeds received by the Trust in respect thereof). As a result, each U.S. Holder will recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between (i) the fair market value of the U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of the Ether transferred and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s tax basis for its pro rata share of the Ether transferred. Any such gain or loss will be short-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for its pro rata share of the Ether is one year or less and long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for its pro rata share of the Ether is more than one year. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in its pro rata share of any Ether transferred by the Trust generally will be determined by multiplying the tax basis of the U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of all of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the transfer by a fraction the numerator of which is the amount of Ether transferred and the denominator of which is the total amount of Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the transfer. Immediately after the transfer, the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in its pro rata share of the Ether remaining in the Trust will be equal to the tax basis of its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the transfer, less the portion of that tax basis allocable to its pro rata share of the Ether transferred.

As noted above, the IRS has taken the position in the Ruling & FAQs that, under certain circumstances, a hard fork of a digital asset constitutes a taxable event giving rise to ordinary income, and it is clear from the reasoning of the Ruling & FAQs that the IRS generally would treat an airdrop as a taxable event giving rise to ordinary income. As described above, the Sponsor has committed to causing the Trust to abandon all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust otherwise might become entitled. If, however, the Trust were to receive and retain IR Virtual Currency in the future, a U.S. Holder would have a basis in that IR Virtual Currency equal

 

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to the amount of income the U.S. Holder recognizes as a result of such fork or airdrop and the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such IR Virtual Currency would begin as of the time it recognizes such income.

U.S. Holders’ pro rata shares of the expenses incurred by the Trust will be treated as “miscellaneous itemized deductions” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, a non-corporate U.S. Holder’s share of these expenses will not be deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, a non-corporate U.S. Holder’s share of these expenses will be deductible for regular U.S. federal income tax purposes only to the extent that the U.S. Holder’s share of the expenses, when combined with other “miscellaneous itemized deductions,” exceeds 2% of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted gross income for the particular year, will not be deductible for U.S. federal alternative minimum tax purposes and will be subject to certain other limitations on deductibility.

On a sale or other disposition of Shares, a U.S. Holder will be treated as having sold the Ether underlying such Shares. Accordingly, the U.S. Holder generally will recognize gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between (i) the amount realized on the sale of the Shares and (ii) the portion of the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust that is attributable to the Shares that were sold or otherwise subject to a disposition. Such tax basis generally will be determined by multiplying the tax basis of the U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of all of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to such sale or other disposition by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of Shares disposed of and the denominator of which is the total number of Shares held by such U.S. Holder immediately prior to such sale or other disposition (such fraction, expressed as a percentage, the “Share Percentage”). If the U.S. Holder’s share of the Trust’s Ether consists of separate lots with separate tax bases and/or holding periods, the U.S. Holder will be treated as having sold the Share Percentage of each such lot. Gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other disposition of Shares will generally be short-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Ether underlying such Shares is one year or less and long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Ether underlying such Shares is more than one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to significant limitations.

If, in the future, In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained and the Trust redeems all or portion of a U.S. Holder’s Shares in exchange for the underlying Ether represented by the redeemed Shares, such redemption generally would not be a taxable event to the U.S. Holder. The U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Ether received in the redemption generally would be the same as the U.S. Holder’s tax basis for the portion of its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the redemption that was attributable to the Shares redeemed, determined as described above, and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in its remaining pro rata portion, if any, of the Ether held in the Trust after the redemption would be equal to the tax basis of its pro rata share of the total amount of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the redemption, less the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Ether received in the redemption. The U.S. Holder’s holding period with respect to the Ether received would generally include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the Shares so redeemed. A subsequent sale of the Ether received in such redemption would generally be a taxable event.

After any sale or other disposition of fewer than all of a U.S. Holder’s Shares, the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in its pro rata share of the Ether held in the Trust immediately after the disposition will equal the tax basis in its pro rata share of the total amount of the Ether held in the Trust immediately prior to the disposition, less the portion of that tax basis that is taken into account in determining the amount of gain or loss recognized by the U.S. Holder on the disposition (or, in the case of a redemption pursuant to an In-Kind Order, if In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained, that is treated as the basis of the Ether received by the U.S. Holder in the redemption).

Any brokerage or other transaction fee incurred by a U.S. Holder in purchasing Shares generally will be added to the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the underlying assets of the Trust. Similarly, any brokerage fee or other transaction fee incurred by a U.S. Holder in selling Shares generally will reduce the amount realized by the U.S. Holder with respect to the sale.

 

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In the absence of guidance to the contrary, it is possible that any income recognized by a U.S. tax-exempt shareholder as a consequence of a hard fork, airdrop or similar occurrence would constitute UBTI. A tax-exempt shareholder should consult its tax adviser regarding whether such shareholder may recognize some UBTI as a consequence of an investment in Shares.

If the Staking Condition is satisfied and the Trust receives staking rewards, likely in the form of new Ether, any such staking rewards received by the Trust would be reportable to Shareholders as taxable income under current IRS guidance.

Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders

As used herein, the term “non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of a Share for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is not a U.S. Holder. The term “non-U.S. Holder” does not include (i) a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in a taxable year, (ii) a former U.S. citizen or U.S. resident or an entity that has expatriated from the United States; (iii) a person whose income in respect of Shares is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States; or (iv) an entity that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Shareholders described in the preceding sentence should consult their tax advisers regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning Shares.

A non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax with respect to its share of any gain recognized on the Trust’s transfer of Ether in payment of the Sponsor’s Fee or any Additional Trust Expense or on the Trust’s sale or other disposition of Ether. In addition, assuming that the Trust holds no asset other than Ether, a non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax with respect to any gain it recognizes on a sale or other disposition of Shares. A non-U.S. Holder also will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax with respect to any distribution received from the Trust, whether in cash or in-kind.

Provided that it does not constitute income that is treated as “effectively connected” with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, U.S.-source “fixed or determinable annual or periodical” (“FDAP”) income received, or treated as received, by a non-U.S. Holder will generally be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% (subject to possible reduction or elimination pursuant to an applicable tax treaty and to statutory exemptions such as the portfolio interest exemption). Although the Sponsor has committed to causing the Trust to abandon all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust may become entitled in the future, and although there is no guidance on point, if the Trust were to receive and retain IR Virtual Currency arising from a future fork, airdrop or similar occurrence, it is likely that any ordinary income recognized by a non-U.S. Holder as a result would constitute FDAP income. It is also likely that any staking rewards received by the Trust would constitute FDAP income. It is unclear, however, whether any such FDAP income would be properly treated as U.S.-source or foreign-source FDAP income. Non-U.S. Holders should assume that, in the absence of guidance, a withholding agent (including the Sponsor) is likely to withhold 30% from a non-U.S. Holder’s pro rata share of any such income. A non-U.S. Holder that is a resident of a country that maintains an income tax treaty with the United States may be eligible to claim the benefits of that treaty to reduce or eliminate, or to obtain a partial or full refund of, the 30% U.S. withholding tax on its share of any such income, but only if the non-U.S. Holder’s home country treats the Trust as “fiscally transparent,” as defined in applicable Treasury regulations.

In order to prevent the possible imposition of U.S. “backup” withholding and (if applicable) to qualify for a reduced rate of withholding tax at source under a treaty, a non-U.S. Holder must comply with certain certification requirements (generally, by delivering a properly executed IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E to the relevant withholding agent).

 

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U.S. Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

The Trust or the appropriate broker will file certain information returns with the IRS and provide shareholders with information regarding their annual income (if any) and expenses with respect to the Trust in accordance with applicable Treasury regulations.

A U.S. Holder will generally be subject to information reporting requirements and backup withholding unless (i) the U.S. Holder is a corporation or other exempt recipient or (ii) in the case of backup withholding, the U.S. Holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies that it is not subject to backup withholding. In order to avoid the information reporting and backup withholding requirements, a non-U.S. Holder may have to comply with certification procedures to establish that it is not a U.S. person. The amount of any backup withholding will be allowed as a credit against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle the holder to a refund, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS.

FATCA

As discussed above, it is unclear whether any ordinary income recognized by a non-U.S. Holder as a result of a fork, airdrop or similar occurrence would constitute U.S.-source FDAP income. Provisions of the Code commonly referred to as “FATCA” require withholding of 30% on payments of U.S.-source FDAP income and, subject to the discussion of proposed U.S. Treasury regulations below, of gross proceeds of dispositions of certain types of property that produce U.S.-source FDAP income to, “foreign financial institutions” (which is broadly defined for this purpose and in general includes investment vehicles) and certain other non-U.S. entities unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied, or an exemption applies. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. In addition, regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury Department (the preamble to which indicates that taxpayers may rely on the regulations pending their finalization) would eliminate the requirement under FATCA of withholding on gross proceeds. If FATCA withholding is imposed, a beneficial owner that is not a foreign financial institution generally may obtain a refund of any amounts withheld by filing a U.S. federal income tax return (which may entail significant administrative burden). Shareholders should consult their tax advisers regarding the effects of FATCA on an investment in the Trust.

 

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ERISA AND RELATED CONSIDERATIONS

ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code impose certain requirements on employee benefit plans and certain other plans and arrangements, including individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) and annuities, Keogh plans, and certain collective investment funds or insurance company general or separate accounts in which such plans or arrangements are invested, that are subject to ERISA and/or the Section 4975 of the Code (collectively, “Plans”), and on persons who are fiduciaries with respect to the investment of Plan assets. Government plans and certain church and non-U.S. plans (collectively, “Non-ERISA Arrangements”) are not subject to the fiduciary responsibility provisions of ERISA or the provisions of Section 4975 of the Code, but may be subject to similar rules under other federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other applicable laws (“Similar Laws”).

General Fiduciary Matters

In contemplating an investment of a portion of Plan assets in Shares, the Plan fiduciary responsible for making such investment should carefully consider, taking into account the facts and circumstances of the Plan, the risks discussed in this prospectus, in “Part I—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Annual Report, in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the other documents incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference herein, and whether such investment is consistent with its fiduciary responsibilities, including, but not limited to (i) whether the fiduciary has the authority to make the investment under the appropriate governing plan instrument, (ii) whether the investment would constitute a direct or indirect non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA or the Code, (iii) the Plan’s funding objectives, and (iv) whether under the general fiduciary standards of investment prudence and diversification such investment is appropriate for the Plan, taking into account the overall investment policy of the Plan, the composition of the Plan’s investment portfolio and the Plan’s need for sufficient liquidity to pay benefits when due. Fiduciaries of Non-ERISA Arrangements should carefully consider whether an investment in Shares would violate any applicable Similar Laws.

Plan Asset Issues

Under the Department of Labor’s regulations at section 2510.3-101, as amended by Section 3(42) of ERISA (the “Plan Asset Regulations”), if a Plan invests in an equity interest of an entity that is “a publicly-offered security,” the entity will not be deemed to hold “plan assets” subject to ERISA, and a party managing the assets of such entity will not be subject to the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction rules of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. A “publicly-offered security” is a security that is freely transferable, part of a class of securities that is widely held, and is either (i) part of a class of securities registered under section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act or (ii) sold to the plan as part of an offering of securities to the public pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act and the class of securities of which such security is a part is registered under the Exchange Act within 120 days (or such later time as may be allowed by the Securities and Exchange Commission) after the end of the fiscal year of the issuer during which the offering of such securities to the public occurred. Whether a security is “freely transferable” is a factual question determined on the basis of facts and circumstances. A class of securities is “widely-held” if it is a class of securities that is owned by 100 or more investors independent of the issuer and of one another. It is anticipated that the Shares will constitute “publicly-offered securities” as defined in the Plan Asset Regulations. Accordingly, Shares held by a Plan, and not the underlying Ether held in the Trust represented by the Shares, should be treated as assets of the Plan, for purposes of applying the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction rules of ERISA and the Code.

Investment by Certain Retirement Plans

IRAs and participant-directed accounts under tax-qualified retirement plans are limited in the types of investments they may make under the Code. Potential purchasers of Shares that are IRAs or participant-directed accounts under a Code Section 401(a) plan should consult with their own advisors as to the consequences of an investment in Shares.

 

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Ineligible Purchasers

In general, Shares may not be purchased with the assets of a Plan if the Trustee, the Sponsor, the distributor or any of their respective affiliates or employees either: (i) has investment discretion with respect to the investment of such Plan assets; (ii) has authority or responsibility to give or regularly gives investment advice with respect to such Plan assets, for a fee, and pursuant to an agreement or understanding that such advice will serve as a primary basis for investment decisions with respect to such Plan assets and that such advice will be based on the particular investment needs of the Plan; or (iii) is an employer maintaining or contributing to such Plan. A party that is described in clause (i) or (ii) of the preceding sentence is a fiduciary under ERISA and the Code with respect to the Plan, and any such purchase might result in a prohibited transaction under ERISA and/or the Code.

Representation

Accordingly, by acceptance of Shares, each purchaser and subsequent transferee of Shares will be deemed to have represented and warranted that either (i) no portion of the assets used by such purchaser or transferee to acquire or hold the Shares constitutes assets of any Plan or Non-ERISA Arrangement or (ii) the acquisition, holding and subsequent disposition of the Shares by such purchaser or transferee will not constitute or result in any non-exempt prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code or violate any applicable Similar Law.

Except as otherwise set forth, the foregoing statements regarding the consequences under ERISA and the Code of an investment in the Trust are based on the provisions of the Code and ERISA as currently in effect, and the existing administrative and judicial interpretations thereunder. No assurance can be given that administrative, judicial or legislative changes will not occur that may make the foregoing statements incorrect or incomplete.

ACCEPTANCE OF SUBSCRIPTIONS ON BEHALF OF PLANS IS IN NO RESPECT A REPRESENTATION BY THE SPONSOR OR ANY OTHER PARTY RELATED TO THE TRUST THAT THIS INVESTMENT MEETS THE RELEVANT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO INVESTMENTS BY ANY PARTICULAR PLAN, PLANS GENERALLY OR THAT THIS INVESTMENT IS APPROPRIATE FOR ANY PARTICULAR PLAN OR PLANS GENERALLY. THE PERSON WITH INVESTMENT DISCRETION WITH RESPECT FOR ANY PLAN SHOULD CONSULT WITH THEIR OWN COUNSEL AND ADVISERS AS TO THE PROPRIETY OF AN INVESTMENT IN THE TRUST, IN LIGHT OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PARTICULAR PLAN BEFORE PURCHASING SHARES. NEITHER THIS DISCUSSION NOR ANYTHING IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS OR IS INTENDED TO BE INVESTMENT ADVICE DIRECTED AT ANY POTENTIAL PURCHASER THAT IS A PLAN OR NON-ERISA ARRANGEMENT, OR AT SUCH PURCHASERS GENERALLY.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The Trust issues Shares in Baskets only to Authorized Participants in exchange for deposits of Ether via a Liquidity Provider, together with corresponding deposits of cash from such Authorized Participants, on an ongoing continuous basis. The Trust does not issue fractions of a Basket. Although the Trust creates Baskets only upon the receipt of Ether, at this time an Authorized Participant can only submit Cash Orders, pursuant to which the Authorized Participant will deposit cash into the Cash Account (and a Liquidity Provider will transfer to the Trust’s Vault Balance the corresponding Ether) in connection with the creation and redemption of Baskets. Subject to In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future the Trust may also create and redeem Baskets via In-Kind Orders, pursuant to which an Authorized Participant or its AP Designee would deposit Ether directly with the Trust or receive Ether directly from the Trust. However, because In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained, at this time Baskets will not be created or redeemed through In-Kind Orders and will only be created or redeemed through Cash Orders. There can be no assurance as to when In-Kind Regulatory Approval will be sought or obtained, if at all.

Cash Orders will be facilitated by the Transfer Agent and Grayscale Investments, LLC, which will engage one or more eligible companies (each, a “Liquidity Provider”) that is not an agent of, or otherwise acting on behalf of, any Authorized Participant to obtain or receive Ether in connection with such orders. Authorized Participants may create a Basket pursuant to a Cash Order by delivering to the Cash Account (x) in the case of a Variable Fee Cash Order, the Basket NAV and any Variable Fee, or (y) in the case of an Actual Execution Cash Order, the Basket NAV, plus any Additional Creation Cash, less any Excess Creation Cash (such amount, as applicable, the “Required Creation Cash”), and the Liquidity Provider transferring the corresponding Basket Amount to the Trust’s Vault Balance. The Basket Amount equals the number of Ether owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each trade date (after deducting the number of Ether representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust) by the number of Shares outstanding at such time and multiplying such quotient by 10,000. The Basket NAV equals the U.S. dollar value of a Basket calculated by multiplying the Basket Amount by the Index Price as of the trade date. Shares will only be created and delivered to the Authorized Participant after the Trust is in simultaneous possession of (i) the Basket Amount and (ii) the Required Creation Cash.

It is expected that Authorized Participants that create Shares will sell Shares to the public at varying prices to be determined by reference to, among other considerations, the price of Ether and the trading price of the Shares on the NYSE Arca at the time of each sale. There will not be an “initial” creation of Baskets upon the Trust’s listing on NYSE Arca given that the Trust already has created Baskets of Shares that will continue to be outstanding as of such date.

While the arbitrage mechanism is expected to keep the value of the Shares closely linked to the Index Price, due to price volatility and differentials, trading volume, and closings of Digital Asset Trading Platforms due to fraud, failure, security breaches or otherwise, there can be no assurance that the value of the Shares will reflect the value of the Trust’s Ether, less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities, and the Shares may trade at a substantial premium over, or a substantial discount to, the value of the Trust’s Ether, less the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities. This risk may be exacerbated to the extent in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares continue to be unavailable for any reason. See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to the Trust and the Shares— The lack of ability to facilitate in-kind creations and redemptions of Shares could have adverse consequences for the Trust.” Moreover, there may be variances in the prices of Ether on the various Digital Asset Trading Platforms, including as a result of differences in fee structures or administrative procedures on different Digital Asset Trading Platforms, which could enhance or inhibit the arbitrage mechanism in a manner that is beyond our control.

Because new Shares can be created and issued on an ongoing basis at any point during the life of the Trust, a “distribution,” as such term is used in the Securities Act, will be occurring. Authorized Participants, other broker-dealers and other persons are cautioned that some of their activities will result in their being deemed participants

 

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in a distribution in a manner which would render them statutory underwriters and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act. For example, an Authorized Participant, other broker-dealer firm or its client will be deemed a statutory underwriter if it purchases a Basket from the Trust, breaks the Basket down into its constituent Shares and sells the Shares directly to its customers, or if it chooses to couple the creation of a new Basket with an active selling effort involving solicitation of secondary market demand for the Shares. A determination of whether a particular market participant is an underwriter must take into account all the facts and circumstances pertaining to the activities of the broker-dealer or its client in the particular case, and the examples mentioned above should not be considered a complete description of all the activities that could lead to designation as an underwriter and subject them to the prospectus delivery and liability provisions of the Securities Act.

Investors that purchase shares through a brokerage account (whether commission-based or fee-based) may pay commissions or fees charged by the brokerage account.

Dealers that are not “underwriters” but are participating in a distribution (as contrasted to ordinary secondary trading transactions), and thus dealing with Shares that are part of an “unsold allotment” within the meaning of Section 4(3)(C) of the Securities Act, would be unable to take advantage of the prospectus delivery exemption provided by Section 4(3) of the Securities Act.

The Sponsor intends to qualify the Shares in states selected by the Sponsor and that sales be made through broker-dealers who are members of FINRA. Investors intending to create or redeem Baskets through Authorized Participants in transactions not involving a broker-dealer registered in such investor’s state of domicile or residence should consult their legal advisor regarding applicable broker-dealer or securities regulatory requirements under the state securities laws prior to such creation or redemption.

Authorized Participants will not receive from the Trust or the Sponsor any compensation in connection with an offering or reoffering of the Shares. Accordingly, there is, and will be, no payment of underwriting compensation in connection with any such offering of Shares in excess of 10% of the gross proceeds of the offering.

Pursuant to a Marketing Agent Agreement (the “Marketing Agent Agreement”) between the Sponsor and Foreside Fund Services, LLC, as Marketing Agent (the “Marketing Agent”), the Marketing Agent will be paid by the Sponsor an annual fee. In addition, the Sponsor will pay certain out-of-pocket fees and expenses of the Marketing Agent incurred in connection with its assistance in the marketing of the Trust and its Shares.

Under the Marketing Agent Agreement, the Marketing Agent will provide the following services to the Sponsor:

 

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Assist the Sponsor in facilitating Participation Agreements between and among Authorized Participants, the Trust, the Transfer Agent;

 

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Provide prospectuses to Authorized Participants;

 

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Work with the Transfer Agent to review and approve orders placed by the Authorized Participants and transmitted to the Transfer Agent;

 

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Review and file applicable marketing materials with FINRA; and

 

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Maintain, reproduce and store applicable books and records related to the services provided under the Marketing Agent Agreement.

The Trust intends to list the Shares on NYSE Arca under the symbol “ETHE.”

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the Shares will be passed upon by Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., as special Delaware counsel to the Trust. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, as special tax counsel to the Trust, will render an opinion regarding the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership of Shares.

EXPERTS

Marcum LLP and Friedman LLP (prior to the acquisition of certain assets of Friedman LLP by Marcum LLP effective September 1, 2022), independent registered public accounting firms, have audited the financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as set forth in their reports, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Marcum LLP audited the financial statements of the Trust as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and for the two years ended December 31, 2023, as well as internal control over financial reporting of the Trust as of December 31, 2023. Friedman LLP audited the statements of operations and changes in net assets of the Trust for the year ended December 31, 2021. Such financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of Marcum LLP and Friedman LLP, given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION;

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The Sponsor has filed on behalf of the Trust a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933. As permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC, this prospectus does not contain all of the information contained in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules thereto. As such we make reference in this prospectus to the registration statement and to the exhibits and schedules thereto. For further information about us and about the securities we hereby offer, you should consult the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules thereto. You should be aware that statements contained in this prospectus concerning the provisions of any documents filed as an exhibit to the registration statement or otherwise filed with the SEC are not necessarily complete, and in each instance reference is made to the copy of such document so filed. Each such statement is qualified in its entirety by such reference.

We file annual, quarterly and periodic reports and other information with the SEC. These filings contain important information which does not appear in this prospectus but is incorporated by reference herein. Our filings are available to the public on the Internet, through a database maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Our filings are also available, free of charge, on our website at www.grayscale.com. We have included our website address for the information of prospective investors and do not intend it to be an active link to our website. Information contained on our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement (or any document incorporated by reference herein or therein).

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to other documents which we have filed or will file with the SEC. We are incorporating by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below.

 

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Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023; and

 

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Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 27, 2024, March  6, 2024 and March 25, 2024, and any additional Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Any future filings the Sponsor or the Trust makes with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c) 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (other than documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in

 

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accordance with SEC rules, including Items 2.02 and 7.01 of Form 8-K), on or after the date of this prospectus and before the termination or completion of this offering of our Shares shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and to become a part of it from the dates that such documents are filed with the SEC. Certain statements and portions of this prospectus will automatically update and may replace information in the above listed documents incorporated by reference. Likewise, information that becomes a part of this prospectus after the date of this prospectus will automatically update and may replace statements in and portions of this prospectus and information previously filed with the SEC.

Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraphs, information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

We will provide you without charge, upon your written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to such documents which are not specifically incorporated by reference into such documents, other than information in future filings that is deemed not to be filed. Please direct your written or telephone requests to Grayscale Investments, LLC, 290 Harbor Drive, 4th Floor, Stamford, Connecticut 06902, (212) 668-1427.

 

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GLOSSARY OF DEFINED TERMS

In this prospectus, each of the following quoted terms have the meanings set forth after such term:

“Actual Exchange Rate”—With respect to any particular asset, at any time, the price per single unit of such asset (determined net of any associated fees) at which the Trust is able to sell such asset for U.S. dollars (or other applicable fiat currency) at such time to enable the Trust to timely pay any Additional Trust Expenses, through use of the Sponsor’s commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the highest such price.

“Actual Execution Cash Order”—A Cash Order pursuant to which any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in acquiring or disposing of the corresponding Total Basket Amount, as the case may be, will be borne solely by the Authorized Participant.

“Additional Creation Cash”—In connection with a creation pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, the amount of additional cash required to be delivered by the Authorized Participant in the event the price realized in acquiring the corresponding Total Basket Amount is higher than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date.

“Additional Redemption Cash”—In connection with a redemption pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, the amount of additional cash to be delivered to the Authorized Participant in the event the price realized in disposing the corresponding Total Basket Amount is higher than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date.

“Additional Trust Expenses”—Together, any expenses incurred by the Trust in addition to the Sponsor’s Fee that are not Sponsor-paid Expenses, including, but not limited to, (i) taxes and governmental charges, (ii) expenses and costs of any extraordinary services performed by the Sponsor (or any other service provider) on behalf of the Trust to protect the Trust or the interests of shareholders, (iii) any indemnification of the Custodian or other agents, service providers or counterparties of the Trust, (iv) the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the Shares on any Secondary Market (including legal, marketing and audit fees and expenses) to the extent exceeding $600,000 in any given fiscal year and (v) extraordinary legal fees and expenses, including any legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with litigation, regulatory enforcement or investigation matters.

“Administrator”—The Bank of New York Mellon, a New York corporation authorized to do a banking business.

“Administrator Fee”—The fee payable to any administrator of the Trust for services it provides to the Trust, which the Sponsor will pay such administrator as a Sponsor-paid Expense.

“Affirmative Action”—A decision by the Trust to acquire or abandon specific Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency at any time prior to the time of a creation or redemption of Shares.

“AP Designee”—An Authorized Participant’s designee in connection with In-Kind Orders (to the extent In-Kind Regulatory Approval is obtained).

“Authorized Participant”—Certain eligible financial institutions that have entered into an agreement with the Trust and the Sponsor concerning the creation or redemption of Shares. Each Authorized Participant (i) is a registered broker-dealer and (ii) has entered into a Participant Agreement with the Sponsor and the Transfer Agent. Subject to In-Kind Regulatory Approval, in the future any Authorized Participants creating and redeeming Shares through In-Kind Orders must also own, or their AP Designee (as defined above) must own, an Ether wallet address that is known to the Custodian as belonging to the Authorized Participant or its AP Designee and maintain an account with the Custodian.

“Basket”—A block of 10,000 Shares.

 

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“Basket Amount”—On any trade date, the number of Ether required as of such trade date for the creation or redemption of a Basket, as determined by dividing (x) the number of Ether owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on such trade date, after deducting the number of Ether representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust (converted using the Index Price at such time, and carried to the eighth decimal place), by (y) the number of Shares outstanding at such time (with the quotient so obtained calculated to one one-hundred-millionth of one Ether (i.e., carried to the eighth decimal place)), and multiplying such quotient by 10,000.

“Basket NAV”—The U.S. dollar value of a Basket calculated by multiplying the Basket Amount by the Index Price as of the trade date.

“Bitcoin”—A type of digital asset based on an open-source cryptographic protocol existing on the Bitcoin network.

“Blockchain” or “Ethereum Blockchain”—The public transaction ledger of the Ethereum Network on which transactions in Ether are recorded.

“Cash Account”—The segregated account maintained by the Transfer Agent in the name of the Trust for purposes of receiving cash from Authorized Participants in connection with creations of Shares and distributing cash to Authorized Participants in connection with redemptions of Shares.

“Cash Order”—An order for the creation or redemption of Shares pursuant to procedures facilitated by the Transfer Agent and pursuant to which a Liquidity Provider is engaged to facilitate the purchase or sale of Ether. A Cash Order may be executed as either a Variable Fee Cash Order or an Actual Execution Cash Order. Unless the Sponsor determines otherwise in its sole discretion based on market conditions and other factors existing at the time of such Cash Order, all creations and redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders are expected to be executed as Variable Fee Cash Orders.

“CFTC”—The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States.

“Code”—The U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

“Coinbase Credit”—Coinbase Credit, Inc.

“Creation Basket”—Basket of Shares issued by the Trust upon deposit of the Basket Amount required for each such Creation Basket.

“Creation Time”—With respect to the creation of any Shares by the Trust, the time at which the Trust creates such Shares.

“Custodial and Prime Broker Services”—The services of the Custodian and the Prime Broker that provide for: (i) holding of the Trust’s Ether in the Vault Balance and the Settlement Balance; (ii) transfer of the Trust’s Ether between the relevant Vault Balance and the Settlement Balance; (iii) the deposit of Ether from a public blockchain address into the respective account or accounts in which the Vault Balance or the Settlement Balance are maintained; and (iv) the withdrawal of Ether from the Vault Balance to a public blockchain address the Trust controls.

“Custodian”—Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC.

“Custodian Fee”—Fee payable to the Custodian and the Prime Broker for services they provide to the Trust, which the Sponsor shall pay to the Custodian and the Prime Broker as a Sponsor-paid Expense.

 

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“DCG”—Digital Currency Group, Inc.

“Digital Asset Market”—A “Brokered Market,” “Dealer Market,” “Principal-to-Principal Market” or “Exchange Market,” (referred to as “Trading Platform Market” in this prospectus) as each such term is defined in the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Master Glossary.

“Digital Asset Trading Platform”—An electronic marketplace where trading platform participants may trade, buy and sell Ether based on bid-ask trading. The largest Digital Asset Trading Platforms are online and typically trade on a 24-hour basis, publishing transaction price and volume data.

“Digital Asset Trading Platform Market”—The global exchange market for the trading of Ether, which consists of transactions on electronic Digital Asset Trading Platforms.

“DTC”—The Depository Trust Company. DTC is a limited purpose trust company organized under New York law, a member of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and a clearing agency registered with the SEC. DTC will act as the securities depository for the Shares.

“Ether”—Ethereum tokens, which are a type of digital asset based on an open-source cryptographic protocol existing on the Ethereum Network, comprising units that constitute the assets underlying the Trust’s Shares.

“Ether Account”—Collectively, the Vault Balance, the Settlement Balance and any subaccounts associated therewith.

“Ethereum Network”—The online, end-user-to-end-user network hosting the public transaction ledger, known as the Ethereum Blockchain, and the source code comprising the basis for the cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the Ethereum Network.

“ERISA”—The U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.

“Excess Creation Cash”—In connection with a creation pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, the amount of excess cash to be returned to the Authorized Participant in the event the price realized in acquiring the corresponding Total Basket Amount is lower than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date.

“Exchange Act”—The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

“FCA”—The Financial Conduct Authority.

“FDIC”—The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“FinCEN”—The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“FINRA”—The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., which is the primary regulator in the United States for broker-dealers, including Authorized Participants.

“GAAP”—United States generally accepted accounting principles.

“Incidental Rights”—Rights to acquire, or otherwise establish dominion and control over, any virtual currency or other asset or right, which rights are incident to the Trust’s ownership of Ether and arise without any action of the Trust, or of the Sponsor or Trustee on behalf of the Trust.

“Index”— The CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX).

 

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“Index License Agreement”—The license agreement, dated as of February 1, 2022, between the Index Provider and the Sponsor governing the Sponsor’s use of the Index for calculation of the Index Price, as amended by Amendment No. 1 thereto and as the same may be amended from time to time.

“Index Price”—The U.S. dollar value of an Ether derived from the Digital Asset Trading Platforms that are reflected in the Index, calculated at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day. See “Part I—Item 1. Business—Overview of the ETH Industry and Market—ETH Value—The Index and the Index Price” in the Annual Report for a description of how the Index Price is calculated. For purposes of the Trust Agreement, the term Ether Index Price shall mean the Index Price as defined herein.

“Index Provider”—CoinDesk Indices, Inc., a Delaware corporation that publishes the Index. Prior to its sale to an unaffiliated third party on November 20, 2023, DCG was the indirect parent company of CoinDesk Indices, Inc. As a result, CoinDesk Indices, Inc. was an affiliate of the Sponsor and the Trust and was considered a related party of the Trust.

“IR Virtual Currency”—Any virtual currency tokens, or other asset or right, acquired by the Trust through the exercise (subject to the applicable provisions of the Trust Agreement) of any Incidental Right.

“IRS”—The U.S. Internal Revenue Service, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“In-Kind Order”—An order for the creation or redemption of Shares pursuant to which the Authorized Participant (or its AP Designee) will deliver or receive Ether directly from the Trust’s Vault Balance. Because In-Kind Regulatory Approval has not been obtained, at this time Shares will not be created or redeemed through In-Kind Orders.

“In-Kind Regulatory Approval”—The necessary regulatory approval to permit NYSE Arca to list the Shares of the Trust utilizing a structure that allows the Trust to create and redeem Shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants or their AP Designees in exchange for Ether. In common with other spot digital asset exchange-traded products, the Trust is not at this time able to create and redeem shares via in-kind transactions with Authorized Participants, and there has yet to be definitive regulatory guidance on whether and how registered broker-dealers can hold and deal in Ether in compliance with the federal securities laws. To the extent further regulatory clarity emerges, the Sponsor expects NYSE Arca to seek the necessary regulatory approval to amend its listing rules to permit the Trust to create and redeem Shares through In-Kind Orders. There can be no assurance as to when such regulatory clarity will emerge, or when NYSE Arca will seek or obtain such regulatory approval, if at all.

“Liquidity Engager”—Grayscale Investments, LLC, acting other than in its capacity as Sponsor, and in its capacity to engage one or more Liquidity Providers.

“Liquidity Provider” —One or more eligible companies that facilitate the purchase and sale of Ether in connection with creations or redemptions pursuant to Cash Orders. The Liquidity Providers with which Grayscale Investments, LLC, acting in its capacity as the Liquidity Engager, will engage in Ether transactions are third parties that are not affiliated with the Sponsor or the Trust and are not acting as agents of the Trust, the Sponsor, or any Authorized Participant, and all transactions will be done on an arms-length basis. Except for the contractual relationships between each Liquidity Provider and Grayscale Investments, LLC in its capacity as the Liquidity Engager, there is no contractual relationship between each Liquidity Provider and the Trust, the Sponsor, or any Authorized Participant.

“Marketing Agent”—Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

“Marketing Fee”—Fee payable to the marketer for services it provides to the Trust, which the Sponsor will pay to the marketer as a Sponsor-paid Expense.

 

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“NAV”—The aggregate value, expressed in U.S. dollars, of the Trust’s assets (other than U.S. dollars or other fiat currency), less its liabilities (which include estimated accrued but unpaid fees and expenses), a Non-GAAP metric, calculated in the manner set forth under “Part I—Item 1. Business—Valuation of ETH and Determination of NAV” in the Annual Report. See also “Trust Objective and Determination of Principal Market NAV and NAV” in this prospectus for a description of the Trust’s Principal Market NAV, as calculated in accordance with GAAP. Prior to February 23, 2024, NAV was referred to as Digital Asset Holdings. For purposes of the Trust Agreement, the term Ether Holdings shall mean the NAV as defined herein.

“NAV Fee Basis Amount”—The amount on which the Sponsor’s Fee for the Trust is based, as calculated in the manner set forth under “Part I—Item 1. Business—Valuation of ETH and Determination of NAV” of the Annual Report.

“NYSE Arca”—NYSE Arca, Inc.

“OTCQX”—The OTCQX tier of OTC Markets Group Inc.

“Other Staking Consideration”—Any Staking Consideration other than Ether.

“Participant Agreement”—An agreement entered into by an Authorized Participant with the Sponsor and the Transfer Agent, that provides the procedures for the creation and redemption of Baskets via a Liquidity Provider.

“Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment”—The abandonment by the Trust, irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which the Trust would otherwise be entitled, effective immediately prior to a Creation Time or a Redemption Time (as the case may be) for the Trust.

“Pre-Creation/Redemption Abandonment Notice”—A notice, as supplemented from time to time, delivered by the Sponsor to each of the Prime Broker, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit, on behalf of the Trust, stating that the Trust is abandoning irrevocably for no direct or indirect consideration, effective immediately prior to each Creation Time or Redemption Time (as the case may be), all Incidental Rights and IR Virtual Currency to which it would otherwise be entitled as of such time and with respect to which the Trust has not taken any Affirmative Action at or prior to such time.

“Prime Broker”—Coinbase, Inc.

“Prime Broker Agreement”—The Prime Broker Agreement, dated as of     , 2024, by and among the Trust, the Sponsor and the Prime Broker, on behalf of itself, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit, that governs the Trust’s and the Sponsor’s use of the Custodial and Prime Broker Services provided by the Custodian and the Prime Broker.

“Principal Market NAV”—The net asset value of the Trust determined on a GAAP basis. Prior to February 23, 2024, Principal Market NAV was referred to as NAV.

“Redemption Cash Shortfall”—In connection with a redemption pursuant to an Actual Execution Cash Order, the amount by which the cash to be delivered to the Authorized Participant is reduced in the event the price realized in disposing the corresponding Total Basket Amount is lower than the Total Basket NAV on the trade date.

“Redemption Time”—With respect to the redemption of any Shares by the Trust, the time at which the Trust redeems such Shares.

“SEC”—The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

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“Secondary Market”—Any marketplace or other alternative trading system, as determined by the Sponsor, on which the Shares may then be listed, quoted or traded, including but not limited to, NYSE Arca and the OTCQX tier of the OTC Markets Group Inc.

“Securities Act”—The Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

“Settlement Balance”—An account controlled and maintained by the Custodian to which cash and digital assets of the Trust are credited on the Trust’s behalf.

“Shares”—Common units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in, and ownership of, the Trust.

“Share Split”—A 9-for-1 Share split of the Trust’s issued and outstanding Shares, which was effective on December 17, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 14, 2020.

“Sponsor”—Grayscale Investments, LLC.

“Sponsor-paid Expenses”—The fees and expenses incurred by the Trust in the ordinary course of its affairs that the Sponsor is obligated to assume and pay, excluding taxes, but including: (i) the Marketing Fee, (ii) the Administrator Fee, (iii) the Custodian Fee and fees for any other security vendor engaged by the Trust, (iv) the Transfer Agent fee, (v) the Trustee fee, (vi) the fees and expenses related to the listing, quotation or trading of the Shares on any Secondary Market (including customary legal, marketing and audit fees and expenses) in an amount up to $600,000 in any given fiscal year, (vii) ordinary course, legal fees and expenses, (viii) audit fees, (ix) regulatory fees, including, if applicable, any fees relating to the registration of the Shares under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, (x) printing and mailing costs, (xi) costs of maintaining the Trust’s website and (xii) applicable license fees, provided that any expense that qualifies as an Additional Trust Expense will be deemed to be an Additional Trust Expense and not a Sponsor-paid Expense.

“Sponsor’s Fee”—A fee, payable in Ether, which accrues daily in U.S. dollars at an annual rate of 1.5% of the NAV Fee Basis Amount of the Trust as of 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each day; provided that for a day that is not a business day, the calculation of the Sponsor’s Fee will be based on the NAV Fee Basis Amount from the most recent business day, reduced by the accrued and unpaid Sponsor’s Fee for such most recent business day and for each day after such most recent business day and prior to the relevant calculation date.

“Staking”—(i) Using, or permitting to be used, in any manner, directly or indirectly, through an agent or otherwise (including, for the avoidance of doubt, through a delegation of rights to any third party with respect to any portion of the Trust Estate, by making any portion of the Trust Estate available to any third party or by entering into any similar arrangement with a third party), any portion of the Trust Estate in a proof-of-stake validation protocol, (ii) accepting any Staking Consideration and (iii) holding any Other Staking Consideration accepted by the Trust pursuant to clause (ii), for not more than 30 days after the Trust’s receipt thereof, pending the use of such Other Staking Consideration for payment of Additional Trust Expenses or distribution to the Shareholders. For the avoidance of doubt, (i) the mere act of transferring units of virtual currency on a peer-to-peer virtual currency network that utilizes a proof-of-stake validation protocol shall not be considered to be “Staking” and (ii) “Staking” shall include any related activity contemplated by a Tax Ruling that satisfies clause (ii)(y) of the definition of Staking Condition and described in the private letter ruling request (as supplemented from time to time) submitted to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in connection therewith.

“Staking Condition”—With respect to a particular form of Staking, the condition that (i) engaging in such form of Staking will not cause the Trust to be treated as other than a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes and (ii) the Trust shall have received (x) a written opinion from a Tax Advisor or (y) a Tax Ruling, in each case, to that effect.

 

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“Staking Consideration”—Any consideration of any kind whatsoever, including, but not limited to, any staking reward paid in fiat currency or paid in kind, in exchange for using, or permitting to be used, any portion of the Trust Estate as described in clause (i) of the definition of Staking.

“Tax Advisor”—An independent law firm that is recognized as being expert in tax matters.

“Tax Ruling”—A binding ruling issued by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

“Total Basket Amount”—With respect to any creation or redemption order, the applicable Basket Amount multiplied by the number of Baskets being created or redeemed.

“Total Basket NAV”—The applicable Basket NAV Amount multiplied by the number of Baskets being created or redeemed.

“Transfer Agency and Service Agreement”—The agreement between the Sponsor and the Transfer Agent which sets forth the obligations and responsibilities of the Transfer Agent with respect to transfer agency services and related matters.

“Transfer Agent”—The Bank of New York Mellon, a New York corporation authorized to do a banking business.

“Transfer Agent Fee”—Fee payable to the Transfer Agent for services it provides to the Trust, which the Sponsor will pay to the Transfer Agent as a Sponsor-paid Expense.

“Treasury Regulations”—The regulations, including proposed or temporary regulations, promulgated under the Code.

“Trust”—Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETH), a Delaware statutory trust, formed on December 13, 2017 under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, as amended, and pursuant to the Trust Agreement.

“Trust Agreement”—The Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement, dated as of July 3, 2018, between the Trustee and the Sponsor establishing and governing the operations of the Trust, as amended by Amendments No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 thereto and as the same may be amended from time to time. Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, the Sponsor expects to enter into the Second Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (as may be further amended from time to time, the “Amended Trust Agreement”) with the Trustee, and all references herein to the Trust Agreement, and descriptions of the terms thereof, are deemed to be to the Amended Trust Agreement.

“Trustee”—Delaware Trust Company, a Delaware trust company, is the Delaware trustee of the Trust.

“Trust Estate”—Without duplication, (i) all the Ether in the Trust’s accounts, including the Ether Account, (ii) all Incidental Rights held by the Trust, (iii) all IR Virtual Currency in the Trust’s accounts, (iv) all Other Staking Consideration held by the Trust, (v) all proceeds from the sale of Ether, Incidental Rights, IR Virtual Currency and Other Staking Consideration pending use of such cash for payment of Additional Trust Expenses or distribution to the Shareholders and (vi) any rights of the Trust pursuant to any agreements, other than this Trust Agreement, to which the Trust is a party.

“U.S.”—United States.

“U.S. dollar” or “$”—United States dollar or dollars.

 

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“Variable Fee” —An amount in cash based on the Total Basket NAV, which shall be paid by the Authorized Participant in connection with Variable Fee Cash Orders. The amount may be changed by the Sponsor in its sole discretion at any time.

“Variable Fee Cash Order”—A Cash Order pursuant to which any price differential between (x) the Total Basket NAV on the trade date and (y) the price realized in acquiring or disposing of the corresponding Total Basket Amount, as the case may be, will be borne solely by the applicable Liquidity Provider.

“Vault Balance”—A segregated custody account controlled and secured by the Custodian to store private keys, which allow for the transfer of ownership or control of the Trust’s Ether on the Trust’s behalf.

 

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GRAYSCALE

ETHEREUM TRUST (ETH)

 

 

 

 

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The Registrant (“Registrant” or “Trust”) does not bear any expenses incurred in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered. These expenses will be paid by Grayscale Investments, LLC, the sponsor of the Registrant (“Sponsor”).

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 2.4(a) of the Trust Agreement (“Trust Agreement”) between Delaware Trust Company, the Registrant’s Trustee (“Trustee”), and the Sponsor provides that the Trustee and any of the officers, directors, employees and agents of the Trustee (the “Indemnified Persons”) shall be indemnified by the Trust as primary obligor and held harmless against any loss, damage, liability, claim, action, suit, cost, expense, disbursement (including the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel), tax or penalty of any kind and nature whatsoever (collectively, “Expenses”), arising out of, imposed upon or asserted at any time against such Indemnified Person in connection with the performance of its obligations under the Trust Agreement, the creation, operation or termination of the Trust or the transactions contemplated therein; provided, however, that neither the Trust nor the Sponsor shall be required to indemnify any Indemnified Person for any Expenses which are a result of the willful misconduct, bad faith or gross negligence of the Indemnified Person. If the Trust shall have insufficient assets or improperly refuses to pay an Indemnified Person within 60 days of a request for payment owed under Section 2.4 of the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor shall, as secondary obligor, compensate or reimburse the Trustee or indemnify, defend and hold harmless an Indemnified Person as if it were the primary obligor under Section 2.4 of the Trust Agreement. Any amount payable to an Indemnified Person under Section 2.4 of the Trust Agreement may be payable in advance and shall be secured by a lien on the Trust property. The obligations of the Sponsor and the Trust to indemnify the Indemnified Persons under this Section 2.4 shall survive the termination of the Trust Agreement.

Section 6.7 of the Trust Agreement provides that the Sponsor, its affiliates and their respective members, managers, directors, officers, employees, agents and controlling persons (each a “Sponsor Indemnified Party”) shall be indemnified by the Trust against any loss, judgment, liability, expense and amount paid in settlement of any claims sustained by it in connection with its activities for the Trust, provided that (i) the Sponsor Indemnified Party was acting on behalf of or performing services for the Trust and has determined, in good faith, that such course of conduct was in the best interests of the Trust and such liability or loss was not the result of fraud, gross negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct, or a material breach of the Trust Agreement on the part of the Sponsor Indemnified Party and (ii) any such indemnification will only be recoverable from the Ether and proceeds from the disposition of Ether on deposit in the Trust’s accounts as well as any rights of the Trust pursuant to any other agreements to which the Trust is a party.

All rights to indemnification permitted in Section 6.7 of the Trust Agreement and payment of associated expenses shall not be affected by the dissolution or other cessation to exist of the Sponsor Indemnified Party, or the withdrawal, adjudication of bankruptcy or insolvency of the Sponsor Indemnified Party, or the filing of a voluntary or involuntary petition in bankruptcy under Title 11 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, by or against the Sponsor Indemnified Party.

Notwithstanding the other provisions of Section 6.7 of the Trust Agreement, the Sponsor Indemnified Party and any person acting as broker-dealer for the Trust shall not be indemnified for any losses, liabilities or expenses arising from or out of an alleged violation of U.S. federal or state securities laws unless (i) there has been a successful adjudication on the merits of each count involving alleged securities law violations as to the particular indemnitee and the court approves the indemnification of such expenses (including, without limitation, litigation costs), (ii) such claims have been dismissed with prejudice on the merits by a court of competent jurisdiction as

 

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to the particular indemnitee and the court approves the indemnification of such expenses (including, without limitation, litigation costs) or (iii) a court of competent jurisdiction approves a settlement of the claims against a particular indemnitee and finds that indemnification of the settlement and related costs should be made. The Trust shall not incur the cost of that portion of any insurance which insures any party against any liability, the indemnification of which is prohibited by the Trust Agreement. Expenses incurred in defending a threatened or pending civil, administrative or criminal action suit or proceeding against the Sponsor Indemnified Party shall be paid by the Trust in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding, if (i) the legal action relates to the performance of duties or services by the Sponsor Indemnified Party on behalf of the Trust; (ii) the legal action is initiated by a third party who is not a shareholder of the Trust or the legal action is initiated by a shareholder of the Trust and a court of competent jurisdiction specifically approves such advance; and (iii) the Sponsor Indemnified Party undertakes to repay the advanced funds with interest to the

Trust in cases in which it is not entitled to indemnification under Section 6.7 of the Trust Agreement. In the event the Trust is made a party to any claim, dispute, demand or litigation or otherwise incurs any loss, liability, damage, cost or expense as a result of or in connection with any shareholder of the Trust’s (or assignee’s) obligations or liabilities unrelated to Trust business, such shareholder of the Trust (or assignees cumulatively) shall indemnify, defend, hold harmless, and reimburse the Trust for all such loss, liability, damage, cost and expense incurred, including attorneys’ and accountants’ fees.

Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Exhibits

See Exhibit Index below, which is incorporated by reference herein.

(b) Financial Statement Schedules

Not applicable

Item 17. Undertakings.

 

(a)

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

 

(1)

To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i)

To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii)

To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

 

(iii)

To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

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Provided, however, the:

 

(A)

Paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or, contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

(2)

That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3)

To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4)

That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i)

Each prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(ii)

Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or

 

(5)

That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

The undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned Registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i)

Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii)

Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned Registrant;

 

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(iii)

The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant; and

 

(iv)

Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned Registrant to the purchaser.

 

(b)

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(c)

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number		Exhibit Description
4.1		Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 of the Registration Statement on Form 10 filed by the Registrant on August 6, 2020).
4.2		Amendment No.  1 to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 of the Registration Statement on Form 10 filed by the Registrant on August 6, 2020).
4.3		Certificate of Amendment to Certificate of Trust (attached as Exhibit A to Amendment No.  1 to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement).
4.4		Amendment No.  2 to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4 of the Registration Statement on Form 10 filed by the Registrant on August 6, 2020).
4.5		Amendment No. 3 to the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Trust Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 on Form 8-K filed by the Registrant on March 25, 2024).
4.6*		Form of Participant Agreement.
5.1*		Opinion of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., as special Delaware counsel to the Trust.
8.1*		Opinion of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, as special tax counsel to the Trust.
23.1		Consent of Marcum LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
23.2		Consent of Friedman LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
23.3*		Consent of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., as special Delaware counsel to the Trust, included in Exhibit 5.1.
23.4*		Consent of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, as special tax counsel to the Trust, included in Exhibit 8.1.
24.1		Power of Attorney of certain officers and directors of the Sponsor, included on the signature page hereto.
99.1†*		Prime Broker Agreement, dated as of   , by and among the Trust, the Sponsor and the Prime Broker, on behalf of itself, the Custodian and Coinbase Credit.
99.2		Fund Administration and Accounting Agreement, dated February  26, 2024, between the Trust and the Administrator (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 on Form 8-K filed by the Registrant on February 27, 2024).
99.3†		Distribution and Marketing Agreement, dated October  3, 2022, between the Sponsor and Grayscale Securities, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 on Form 8-K filed by the Registrant on October 3, 2022).
99.4†		Index License Agreement, dated February  1, 2022, between the Sponsor and the Index Provider (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Registrant on February 4, 2022).
99.5†		Amendment No. 1 to the Index License Agreement, dated June  20, 2023, between the Sponsor and the Index Provider (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Registrant on June 23, 2023).
99.6*		Transfer Agency and Service Agreement, dated   , between the Trust and the Transfer Agent.
99.7*		Co-Transfer Agency Agreement, dated   , between the Sponsor and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
107		Filing Fee Table.

 

†	Portions of this exhibit (indicated by asterisks) have been omitted as the Registrant has determined that (i) the omitted information is not material and (ii) the omitted information is of the type that the Registrant treats as private or confidential.

*	To be filed by amendment.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, New York, on April 23, 2024.

 

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each of the undersigned officers and directors of the Registrant hereby severally constitutes and appoints Michael Sonnenshein and Edward McGee, and each of them singly (with full power to each of them to act alone), as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution in each of them, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, and in any and all capacities, to file and sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this registration statement and any other registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective under Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith and about the premises as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney shall be governed by and construed with the laws of the State of Delaware and applicable federal securities laws.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Mark Shifke Mark Shifke		Chairman of the Board of Directors		April 23, 2024
/s/ Michael Sonnenshein Michael Sonnenshein		Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer)		April 23, 2024
/s/ Edward McGee Edward McGee		Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Financial Officer (principal financial and principal accounting officer)		April 23, 2024
/s/ Matthew Kummell Matthew Kummell		Member of the Board of Directors		April 23, 2024

 

*	The Registrant is a trust and the persons are signing in their capacities as officers or directors of Grayscale Investments, LLC, the Sponsor of the Registrant.

 

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