The Protocol Guild, a team of over 150 Ethereum core developers, will be the beneficiary. VanEck argues that asset managers should give back some Ether ETF proceeds to the community.
Global asset manager VanEck will donate 10% of all profits from its upcoming Ether futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) to Ethereum core developers for ten years, the company announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 29.
The beneficiary will be The Protocol Guild, a group of over 150 developers maintaining Ethereum’s core technology. According to VanEck, it’s only fair for asset managers to return part of their proceeds to the community building the crypto protocol. It stated:
Big announcement!
We intend to donate 10% of our $EFUT ETF profits (https://t.co/gr652AkUvv) to @ProtocolGuild for at least 10 years.
Thank you, Ethereum contributors, for nearly a decade of relentless building & ongoing stewardship of this common infrastructure.
Details 👇
— VanEck (@vaneck_us) September 29, 2023
The network core developers are reportedly working on Ethereum Improvement Proposal EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding). The upgrade will introduce a new kind of transaction type to Ethereum, promising to reduce transaction fees for layer-2 protocols.
VanEck disclosed its upcoming Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) on Sept. 28, saying it will invest in ether futures contracts. The fund will be actively managed by Greg Krenzer, head of active trading at VanEck, and is expected to be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange in the coming days.
Other traditional investment firms set to offer exposure to Ether futures include Valkyrie, and Bitwise, while the line for a spot Ether ETF keeps growing with Invesco Galaxy, ARK 21Shares, and VanEck waiting for regulatory approval. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently delayed a decision on whether to approve a spot Ether product until December.