VanEck Ethereum ETF: Form 10-Q for the period ended Sep 30, 2025
Filed with the SEC on Nov 13, 2025 and accepted by EDGAR at Nov 13, 2025, 14:36 ET.
Management's discussion and analysis
As filed, 8,430 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
This information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to financial statements included with this report. The discussion and analysis that follows may contain statements that relate to future events or future performance. In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. All statements (other than statements of historical fact) included in this report that address activities, events or developments that may occur in the future, including such matters as changes in commodity prices and market conditions (for ETH and the Shares), the operations of the Trust, the plans of the Sponsor 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. These statements are based upon certain assumptions and analyses made by the Sponsor on the basis of its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Whether or not actual results and developments will conform to the Sponsor’s expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the special considerations discussed in this report, general economic, market and business conditions, changes in laws or regulations, including those concerning taxes, made by governmental authorities or regulatory bodies, and other world economic and political developments. Consequently, all the forward-looking statements made in this report 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, will result in the expected consequences to, or have the expected effects on, the Trust’s operations or the value of the Shares issued by the Trust. Moreover, neither the Sponsor nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the forward-looking statements. Neither the Trust nor the Sponsor undertakes an obligation to publicly update or conform to actual results any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.
Introduction
The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust. The Trust does not have directors, officers or employees. The creation and operation of the Trust has been arranged by the Sponsor. The Trust is administered by the Trust Agreement, among the Sponsor and, the Trustee. The Trust is managed and controlled by the Sponsor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of VanEck. The Sponsor is not governed by a board of directors.
The Trust’s investment objective is to reflect the performance of the price of ETH less the operating expenses of the Trust. The Trust is a passive investment vehicle that does not seek to pursue any investment strategy beyond tracking the price of ETH. The Trust does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of ETH.
The Trust issues and redeems Shares only in aggregations of 25,000 Shares, a Basket, or integral multiples thereof, and only in transactions with authorized participants.
Shares of the Trust trade on the Exchange under the ticker symbol “ETHV.”
Computation of Net Asset Value
The Trust’s NAV is calculated based on the Trust’s net asset holdings, as reconciled to the ETH Custodians’ accounts, on a market approach determined on a daily basis in accordance with the MarketVectorTM Ethereum Benchmark Rate price at 4:00 p.m. EST. The Trust’s NAV per Share is calculated by taking the current market value of its total assets, subtracting any liabilities, and then dividing that total by the total number of outstanding Shares. The Trust Agreement gives the Sponsor the exclusive authority to determine the Trust’s NAV and the Trust’s NAV per Share, which it has delegated to the Administrator.
Liquidity
The Trust is not aware of any trends, demands, conditions or events that are reasonably likely to result in material changes to its liquidity needs. In exchange for a fee, the Sponsor has agreed to assume most of the expenses incurred by the Trust. As a result, the only ordinary expense of the Trust during the period covered by this report was the Sponsor’s Fee, which was waived during the period. The Trust’s only source of liquidity is its sales of ETH.
Significant Accounting Policies
In preparing financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amount of revenue and expenses reported during the period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. A description of the valuation of ETH, a critical accounting policy that the Trust believes is important to understanding its results of operations and financial position, is provided in the section entitled “Computation of Net Asset Value” above. In addition, please refer to Note 2 to the Financial Statements included in this report for further discussion of the Trust’s accounting policies.
Results of Operations
The Quarter Ended September 30, 2025
The Trust’s NAV increased from $118,333,419 at June 30, 2025 to $265,946,969 at September 30, 2025, a 124.74% increase. The increase in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from an increase in the price of ETH, which increased 66.09% from $2,486 at June 30, 2025 to $4,129 at September 30, 2025. The number of Shares outstanding also increased from 3,250,000 Shares at June 30, 2025 to 4,400,000 Shares at September 30, 2025, a net result of 1,800,000 Shares (72 Baskets) being created and 650,000 Shares (26 Baskets) being redeemed during the period.
The 66.00% increase in the NAV per Share from $36.41 at June 30, 2025 to $60.44 at September 30, 2025 is directly related to the 66.09% increase in the price of ETH during this period.
The NAV per Share of $70.58 on August 22, 2025, was the highest during the quarter, compared with a low during the quarter of $35.38 on July 1, 2025.
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, was $86,212,750 resulting from a net unrealized appreciation on investment in ETH of $76,792,729, a net realized gain of $9,505,163 on ETH sold for the redemption of Shares, a net realized gain of $12,350 from ETH sold to pay expenses during the quarter, and a net investment loss of $97,492. Other than the Sponsor Fee of $97,492, the Trust has no other expenses during the quarter.
The Nine-Month Period Ended September 30, 2025
The Trust’s NAV increased from $146,428,902 at December 31, 2024 to $265,946,969 at September 30, 2025, an 81.62% increase. The increase in the Trust’s NAV resulted primarily from an increase in the number of outstanding Shares, which increased from 3,000,000 Shares at December 31, 2024 to 4,400,000.00 Shares at September 30, 2025, a net result of 2,325,000 Shares (93 Baskets) being created and 925,000 Shares (37 Baskets) being redeemed during the period. In addition, the price of ETH increased 23.88% from $3,333 at December 31, 2024 to $4,129 at September 30, 2025.
The 23.83% increase in the NAV per Share from $48.81 at December 31, 2024 to $60.44 at September 30, 2025 is primarily related to the 23.88% increase in the price of ETH during this period.
The NAV per Share of $70.58 on August 22, 2025, was the highest during the nine months, compared with a low during the nine months of $21.45 on April 8, 2025.
Net increase in net assets resulting from operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $ 44,561,298 resulting from a net change in unrealized appreciation on investment in ETH of $40,956,880, a net realized gain of $3,689,560 on ETH sold for the redemption of Shares, a net realized gain of $12,350 from ETH sold to pay expenses during the period, and a net investment loss of $97,492. Other than the Sponsor Fee of $97,492, the Trust has no other expenses during the period.
Controls and procedures
As filed, 1,570 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
The duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, with the participation of the Trustee, have evaluated the effectiveness of the Trust’s disclosure controls and procedures, and have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures of the Trust were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that the Trust files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the applicable rules and forms, and that it is accumulated and communicated to the duly authorized officers of the Sponsor performing functions equivalent to those a principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Trust would perform if the Trust had any officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures.
There were no changes in the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Trust’s internal control over financial reporting.
Risk factors
As filed, 27,969 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.
Except as set forth below, there have been no material changes to the Risk Factors last reported under Part I, Item 1A of the registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 26, 2025.
The trading prices of many digital assets, including ETH, have experienced extreme volatility in recent periods and may continue to do so. Extreme volatility in the future, including further declines in the trading prices of ETH, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares and the Shares could lose all or substantially all of their value.
The trading prices of many digital assets, including ETH, have experienced extreme volatility in recent periods and may continue to do so. For instance, there were steep increases in the value of certain digital assets, including ETH, over the course of 2021, and multiple market observers asserted that digital assets were experiencing a “bubble.” These increases were followed by steep drawdowns throughout 2022 in digital asset trading prices, including for ETH. These episodes of rapid price appreciation followed by steep drawdowns have occurred multiple times throughout ETH’s history, including in 2017-2018 and in 2021-2022. Digital asset prices have continued to fluctuate in 2025. For example, ETH lost approximately 20% of its value according to some sources in mid-October 2025 as part of wider digital asset market turmoil, widely attributed to global trade tensions, which triggered a number of dislocations in the digital asset market (the “October 2025 Flash Crash”), including liquidations of up to $20 billion in collateral in the form of various digital assets (including, but not limited to, ETH) securing trades (particularly perpetual futures contracts and various forms of financing transactions), along with reported service interruptions, halted orders, forced unwinding of trades, and other issues, across centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Extreme volatility may persist and the value of the Shares may significantly decline in the future without recovery. The digital asset markets may be experiencing a bubble or may experience a bubble again in the future. For example, in the first half of 2022, each of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital Ltd., and Three Arrows Capital declared bankruptcy, resulting in a loss of confidence in participants of the digital asset ecosystem and negative publicity surrounding digital assets more broadly. In November 2022, FTX Trading Ltd. (“FTX”), one of the largest digital asset exchanges by volume at the time, halted customer withdrawals amid rumors of the company’s liquidity issues and likely insolvency, which were subsequently corroborated by its CEO. Shortly thereafter, FTX’s CEO resigned and FTX and many of its affiliates filed for bankruptcy in the United States, while other affiliates have entered insolvency, liquidation, or similar proceedings around the globe, following which the U.S. Department of Justice brought criminal fraud and other charges, and the SEC and CFTC brought civil securities and commodities fraud charges, against certain of FTX’s and its affiliates’ senior executives, including its former CEO. 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”). In response to these events (collectively, the “2022 Events”), the digital asset markets have experienced extreme price volatility and other entities in the digital asset industry have been, and may continue to be, negatively affected, further undermining confidence in the digital asset markets. These events have also negatively impacted the liquidity of the digital asset markets as certain entities affiliated with FTX engaged in significant trading activity. If the liquidity of the digital asset markets continues to be negatively impacted by these events, digital asset prices, including ethereum, may continue to experience significant volatility or price declines and confidence in the digital asset markets may be further undermined. In addition, regulatory and enforcement scrutiny has increased, including from, among others, the Department of Justice, the SEC, the CFTC, the White House and Congress, as well as state regulators and authorities. These events are continuing to develop and the full facts are continuing to emerge. It is not possible to predict at this time all of the risks that they may pose to the Trust, its service providers or to the digital asset industry as a whole.
The prices for some digital assets including ETH have risen following the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Some expect the new administration to adopt a more constructive attitude toward the digital assets industry than prior administrations were perceived to have done and work toward providing greater regulatory clarity and certainty for emerging technologies including blockchain technology and digital assets, thereby fostering their development. Certain members of Congress have also expressed similar sentiments. To the extent market expectations about future activity by the administration or Congress lead digital assets prices and valuations to increase, there can be no assurance such expectations will be fulfilled, or that digital asset prices will rise or maintain their current levels. Some commentators have referred to this as a bubble. There can be no assurance that such a bubble does not currently exist. The failure of the administration and Congress to provide greater regulatory clarity and certainty for blockchain technology and digital assets, such as through promulgating a regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets that lives up to industry expectations, could lead to a decline in prices for digital assets including ETH, which could cause declines in the value of the Shares and cause Shareholders to suffer losses. Moreover, there can be no assurance that political winds or market perceptions of them will not shift over time.
Extreme volatility in the future, including further declines in the trading prices of ETH, could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares and the Shares could lose all or substantially all of their value. Furthermore, negative perception, a lack of stability and standardized regulation in the digital asset economy may reduce confidence in the digital asset economy and may result in greater volatility in the price of ETH and other digital assets, including a depreciation in value. The Trust is not actively managed and will not take any actions to take advantage, or mitigate the impacts, of volatility in the price of ETH.
Digital Asset Treasury Companies Risk
Recently, a number of companies engaged in businesses outside the digital assets industry have begun to hold their corporate treasuries in digital assets instead of in fiat currency (“digital asset treasury companies”). In some cases, these companies have raised funds through financing or securities offerings and applied the proceeds to purchase digital assets, including ETH.
Digital asset treasury companies are a relatively new phenomenon and it is impossible to predict all of the risks they could pose to the Trust. On the one hand, digital asset treasury companies may increase procyclical dynamics in the market because they may purchase digital assets, such as ETH, when prices are rising and they may sell such assets when prices are decreasing, potentially making ETH more expensive in a rising market and then causing downward pressure on ETH prices in a falling market (causing prices to fall faster than they otherwise would). Digital asset treasury companies could cause greater volatility in digital asset markets, including markets for ETH. Negative events or sentiment surrounding digital asset treasury companies could affect the market for ETH. On the other hand, digital asset treasury companies may compete with the Trust in the marketplace as a perceived alternative means of achieving exposure to the price of ETH (to a greater or lesser extent) through investing in securities. The foregoing or similar events involving digital asset treasury companies could adversely affect Shareholders, the price of ETH and/or the Trust's operations.
Due to the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of ETH trading platforms, which may be subject to regulation in a relevant jurisdiction, but may not be complying, they may experience fraud, manipulation, security failures or operational problems, which may adversely affect the value of ETH and, consequently, the value of the Shares.
Digital asset trading platforms are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated. Many operate outside the United States. Furthermore, 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 digital asset trading platforms do not provide this information. Digital asset trading platforms may not be subject to, or may not comply with, 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 ETH trading.
Many digital asset trading platforms are unlicensed, may be unregulated, may be subject to regulation in a relevant jurisdiction, but may not be complying, may 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 in regulated U.S. securities and commodities markets, and may reflect behavior that would be prohibited in regulated U.S. trading venues.
The ETH market globally and in the United States is not subject to comparable regulatory guardrails as exist in regulated securities markets. Furthermore, many ETH trading venues 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 demonstrated by the October 2025 Flash Crash. As a result, the prices of ETH on trading venues may be subject to larger and/or more frequent sudden declines than assets traded on more traditional exchanges. 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 trading platforms, or may not exist at all.
The value of the Shares is subject to a number of factors relating to the fundamental investment characteristics of ETH as a digital asset, including the fact that digital assets are bearer instruments and loss, theft, destruction, or compromise of the associated private keys could result in permanent loss of the asset, and the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies such as the ethereum blockchain.
Digital assets such as ETH were only introduced within the past 15 years, and the value of the Shares is subject to a number of factors over time relating to the capabilities and development of blockchain technologies, such as the recentness of their development, their dependence on the internet and other technologies, their dependence on the role played by users, developers and validators and the potential for malicious activity. For example, the realization of one or more of the following risks could materially adversely affect the value of the Shares: digital asset networks, including the Ethereum peer-to-peer network and associated blockchain ledger (such blockchain, the “Ethereum Blockchain” and together with the peer-to-peer network, the “Ethereum network” or “Layer 1 Ethereum network”), and the software used to operate them are in the early stages of development. Given the recentness of the development of digital asset networks, digital assets may not function as intended and parties may be unwilling to use digital assets, which would dampen the growth, if any, of digital asset networks. Because ETH is a digital asset, the value of the Shares is subject to a number of factors relating to the fundamental investment characteristics of digital assets, including the fact that digital assets are bearer instruments and loss, theft, compromise, or destruction of the associated private keys could result in permanent loss of the asset.
The Ethereum network, including the cryptographic and algorithmic protocols associated with the operation of the Ethereum Blockchain, has only been in existence since 2015, and ETH markets have a limited performance record, making them part of a new and rapidly evolving industry that is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. For example, the following are some of the risks could materially adversely affect the value of the Shares:
- Digital assets, including ETH, are controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public key and private key or keys relating to the Ethereum network address, or “wallet,” at which the digital asset is held. Private keys must be safeguarded and kept private in order to prevent a third party from accessing the digital asset held in such wallet. The loss, theft, compromise or destruction of a private key required to access a digital asset may be irreversible. If a private key is lost, stolen, destroyed or otherwise compromised and no backup of the private key is accessible, the owner would be unable to access the digital asset corresponding to that private key and the private key will not be capable of being restored by the digital asset network resulting in the total loss of the value of the digital asset linked to the private key.
- Digital asset networks are dependent upon the internet. A disruption of the internet, or major telecommunications and internet service providers, or a digital asset network, such as the Ethereum network, could affect the ability to transfer digital assets, including ETH, and, consequently, could negatively impact their value. In addition, data center hosting and cloud services providers play a crucial role in the global Internet economy. Many of the Trust’s service providers conduct their business operations and processes using cloud providers and third-party data center hosting facilities, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and other cloud services. In October 2025, news outlets reported that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure both suffered significant service interruptions which caused disruptions to some of their cloud services customers. Any disruptions or failures of the Sponsor’s systems or the third-party hosting facility or cloud services that the Sponsor uses, or may use in the future, or of the Trust’s service providers’ systems or the third party hosting
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| facilities or cloud services that they use, or may use in the future, including as a result of a natural disaster, fire, cyberattack, act of terrorism, geopolitical conflict, pandemic, the effects of climate change, or other catastrophic event, as well as power outages, service disruptions or interruptions, scheduled or unscheduled downtime, software or hardware defects, telecommunications infrastructure outages, a decision to close such facilities or cease providing such services, or other problems with the Sponsor’s or a Trust service provider’s systems or third-party data center hosting or cloud providers that the Sponsor or a Trust service provider uses, or may use in the future, such as a failure to meet service standards, could severely impact the Trust’s or Sponsor’s ability to conduct business operations, such as creation and redemption processes or deposits or withdrawals into the Trust’s custodial accounts, any of which could materially adversely affect the Trust’s operations or cause losses to the Trust’s Shareholders. | |
| • | Governance of the Ethereum network is by voluntary consensus and open competition. As a result, there may be a lack of consensus or clarity on the governance of the Ethereum network, which may stymie the Ethereum network’s utility and ability to grow and face challenges. In particular, it may be difficult to find solutions or martial sufficient effort to overcome any future problems on the Ethereum network, especially long-term problems. |
| • | The foregoing notwithstanding, the Ethereum network’s protocol is informally overseen by a collective of core developers who, along with members of the Ethereum community, can introduce proposals, known as Ethereum Improvement Proposals (“EIPs”), for updating the Ethereum network. The core developers evolve over time, largely based on self-determined participation. The core developers may not agree among themselves about the direction of the network. If disagreement among the core developers causes some of them to abandon or cease participation in the development of the Ethereum Blockchain, whether for other blockchain or digital asset networks or protocols or to pursue other activities, the value of ethereum could be negatively affected. |
| • | An “Ethereum Client” is a software application that implements the Ethereum network specification and communicates with the Ethereum network. Following the Merge, an Ethereum Client consists of two software programs, an Execution Client and a Consensus Client. Becoming a validator requires downloading additional software in addition to the Execution Client and Consensus Client. Each node must download the Ethereum Client and then connects to other computers also running the Ethereum Client software, together forming the Ethereum network. To the extent that node operators update their individual Ethereum Client to new specifications, the Ethereum network could be subject to new changes that may adversely affect the value of ethereum. In addition, if a digital asset network has high-profile contributors, a perception that such contributors will no longer contribute to the network could have an adverse effect on the market price of the related digital asset. |
| • | To the extent that any validators cease to record transactions that do not include the payment of a transaction fee in solved blocks or do not record a transaction because the transaction fee is too low, such transactions will not be recorded on the Ethereum Blockchain until a block is validated by a validator who does not require the payment of transaction fees or is willing to accept a lower fee. Any widespread delays in the recording of transactions could result in a loss of confidence in a digital asset network. |
| • | As the Ethereum network continues to develop and grow, certain technical issues might be uncovered and the trouble shooting and resolution of such issues requires the attention and efforts of ethereum’s global development community. Like all software, the Ethereum network is at risk of vulnerabilities and bugs that can potentially be exploited by malicious actors. For example, in July 2016, the Ethereum network underwent a hard fork to reverse the effects of a hack in which an unknown attacker drained funds from one account into an account controlled by the hacker. This hard fork resulted in the creation of a new digital asset network called Ethereum Classic. This hard fork was contentious, and 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, as could constituencies adversely impacted by any contentious hard forks that take place in the future. |
| • | Many digital asset networks, including the Ethereum network, face significant scaling challenges and are being upgraded with various features designed to increase the speed of digital asset transactions and the number of transactions that can processed in a given period (known as “throughput”). These attempts to increase the volume of transactions may not be effective, and such upgrades may fail, resulting in potentially irreparable damage to the Ethereum network and the value of ethereum. |
| • | Moreover, in the past, bugs, defects and flaws in the source code for digital assets have been exposed and exploited, including flaws that disrupted normal Ethereum network, Ethereum Client, or DApp and smart contract operations or disabled related functionality for users, exposed users’ personal information and/or resulted in the theft of users’ digital assets. For example, in May 2023, the main Ethereum network itself reportedly suffered outages or bugs that for a short time prevented transactions from finalizing and being recorded in blocks twice in two days. Major Ethereum Clients which nodes use to access the Ethereum network, such as Geth, Besu and Nethermind, have in the past suffered outages or disruptions due to bugs. For more on an unplanned fork involving Geth clients, see “-A temporary or permanent “fork” could adversely affect the value of the Shares.” The cryptography underlying the Ethereum network or ethereum as an asset could prove to be flawed or ineffective, or developments in mathematics and/or technology, including advances in digital computing, algebraic |
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| geometry and quantum computing, could result in such cryptography becoming ineffective. In any of these circumstances, a malicious actor may be able to compromise the security of the Ethereum network or take the Trust’s ETH, which would adversely affect the value of the Shares. Moreover, normal operations and functionality of the Ethereum network may be negatively affected Such losses of functionality could lead to the Ethereum network losing attractiveness to users, nodes, validators, or other stakeholders, thereby dampening demand for ethereum. Even if another digital asset other than ethereum were affected by similar circumstances, any reduction in confidence in the source code or cryptography underlying digital assets generally could negatively affect the demand for digital assets and therefore adversely affect the value of the Shares. | |
| • | In December 2020, the Ethereum network launched a validator registry, referred to as the Beacon Chain, to commence an upgrade called Ethereum 2.0. Ethereum 2.0 was intended to be a new iteration of the Ethereum network that would change the Ethereum network’s consensus mechanism from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake and incorporate the use of sharding. The launch of Beacon Chain was intended to allow nodes to conduct staking transactions to test the new consensus mechanism. Upon its launch, Beacon Chain co-existed in parallel, but separately from, the main Ethereum network at the time (or “mainnet”), which was based on proof-of-work. On September 15, 2022, the proof-of-work-based Ethereum mainnet merged into the Beacon Chain and its proof-of-stake-based consensus system, integrating and unifying both networks into a single proof-of-stake-based Ethereum network (known also as the “Merge”). This upgraded network is referred to as Ethereum rather than Ethereum 2.0. A blockchain protocol’s consensus mechanism is a critical feature of its source code, and any failure to achieve the expected benefits or widespread adoption of the major structural changes to the core consensus mechanism of the Ethereum network contemplated as part of Ethereum 2.0 could have a material adverse effect on the value of ethereum and the value of the Shares. |
| • | The Ethereum network is still in the process of developing and making significant decisions that will affect policies that govern the supply and issuance of ethereum as well as other Ethereum network protocols. For example, the Ethereum network has on several occasions reduced the quantity of new ETH rewarded per block or altered the outstanding supply of ethereum (such as by introducing burning of base fees paid to the protocol) and may make additional changes in the future. The open-source nature of many digital asset network protocols, such as the protocol for the Ethereum network, means that developers and other contributors are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing such protocols. As a result, the developers and other contributors of a particular digital asset may lack a financial incentive to maintain or develop the network, or may lack the resources to adequately address emerging issues. Alternatively, some developers may be funded by companies whose interests are at odds with other participants in a particular digital asset network. If the Ethereum network does not successfully develop its policies on supply and issuance, and other major design decisions or does so in a manner that is not attractive to network participants it could lead to a decline in adoption of the Ethereum network and price of ETH. |
| • | Software applications running on top of the Ethereum network (often referred to as “decentralized applications” or “DApps”, whether or not decentralized in fact) and smart contract developers depend on being able to obtain ethereum to be able to run their programs and operate their businesses. In particular, decentralized applications and smart contracts require ETH in order to pay the gas fees needed to power such applications and smart contracts and execute transactions. As such, they represent a significant source of demand for ETH. ETH’s price volatility (particularly where ETH prices increase), or the Ethereum network’s wider inability to meet the demands of decentralized applications and smart contracts in terms of inexpensive, reliable, and prompt transaction execution (including during congested periods), or to solve its scaling challenges or increase its throughput, may discourage such decentralized application and smart contract developers from using the Ethereum network as the foundational infrastructure layer for building their applications and smart contracts. If decentralized application and smart contract developers abandon the Ethereum Blockchain for other blockchain or digital asset networks or protocols for whatever reason, the value of ethereum could be negatively affected. |
| • | As of the date of this Report, the largest 100 ETH wallets held a substantial amount of the outstanding supply of ETH and it is possible that some of these wallets are controlled by the same person or entity. Moreover, it is possible that other persons or entities control multiple wallets that collectively hold a significant number of ETH, even if each wallet individually only holds a small amount. As a result of this concentration of ownership, large sales by such holders could have an adverse effect on the market price of ETH. |
Moreover, because digital assets, including ETH, have been in existence for a short period of time and are continuing to develop, there may be additional risks in the future that are impossible to predict as of the date of this Report.
Figures reported in this filing
Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2025-09-30. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.
| Line item | Period | Value | XBRL concept |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | At period end2025-09-30 | $0 | us-gaap:Cash |
| Total assets | At period end2025-09-30 | $266.0m | us-gaap:Assets |
| Total liabilities | At period end2025-09-30 | $43.8k | us-gaap:Liabilities |
Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0000930413-25-003439. Last ingested by Listed: Oct 24, 2026, 15:06 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.