Ether ETFs started trading this morning, though not without some 11th hour suspense.

Why it matters: The spotlight is now on the Ethereum blockchain's native token as the latest digital asset to be legitimized as an investment.

Driving the news: More than eight weeks after the SEC greenlighted applications, final approvals for the nine initial funds just came in.

• While a couple of issuers' filings were publicly declared effective by the SEC late yesterday afternoon, others hit only a few hours before markets opened today.

Some folks are already watching the race to the top.

• "Without a doubt, BlackRock will be the firm that dominates the ETH ETF market," Alexander Blume, CEO of Two Prime, an RIA specializing in digital asset derivatives, tells Axios in an email.
• "Their institutional size, trust in the market, sales force, and existing client base will make them the winner in [ether] ETFs just like they have taken the lead with the [bitcoin] ETFs," he adds, speaking to the sales prowess of giants like BlackRock and Fidelity.

Between the lines: The crypto industry appears to be counting on exchange-traded funds to take ether prices to new highs.

• Some traders are eyeing a new record, expecting ether's price to surpass its November 2021 all-time high of $4,867.60, from its current level of around $3,490.

Flashback: Not long after the January debuts of bitcoin ETFs, the world's largest digital asset smashed through its ceiling and posted a fresh all-time high.

What they're saying: Ophelia Snyder, 21Shares co-founder and president, tells Axios over email that the firm thinks of bitcoin as "a hedge for economic instability."

• "Ethereum on the other hand, is more complex in nature and is akin to a growth equity investment. In the near, term, we view Ethereum as a platform for tokenization, stablecoins and decentralized finance."
• BlackRock's U.S. head of thematic and active ETFs, Jay Jacobs, said in a release: "Ethereum's appeal lies in its decentralized nature and its potential to drive digital transformation in finance and other industries."
• Jan van Eck, chief of the eponymous firm, described it as an "aggressive growth investment."

The intrigue: CoinFund's Chris Perkins thinks the non-staking aspect of the ETFs could drive adoption of the blockchain: "The spot ETH ETF promises to bring a new generation 'on chain,' perhaps in search of the yield that the ETF will fail to deliver upon launch," he said, or to "unlock the power" of the decentralized blockchain economy.

Crystal's thought bubble: 👆 It'll be interesting to see how each firm approaches their perspective of ether as an investment, and how it might fit in portfolios alongside stocks and bonds.

Ether didn't move much in the last 24 hours, during which the final SEC approvals for various ETFs to launch today landed.

💭 Our thought bubble: If memory serves, bitcoin didn't do cartwheels initially either.

• The surge and the fresh all-time high came a bit after the launch — maybe, ether will trace that pattern, or go its own way.

Grayscale Investments' mini ether ETF is set to trade on major exchanges today and could price at less than a McDonald's Big Mac.

Why it matters: The Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) is designed to beckon to retail investors.

• Each share of the mini — which is separate from Grayscale's main ether ETF, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) — will offer a fraction of the underlying ether relative to its big brother fund, making its price also a sliver by comparison.
• The mini is being launched with a spinout of 10% of ETHE's assets, which were priced as of Wednesday's close.

Between the lines: Every holder of ETHE will receive a proportional share of the mini today. After that, investors can buy and sell shares in either fund.

💭 Our thought bubble: That lower buy-in is likely to be a hit with retail investors, who appear to have largely driven the billions of inflows into bitcoin ETFs.

• Robinhood and other fintech platforms already do this, offering fractional shares of stocks and ETFs.

What we're watching: Grayscale might fare better in the ether ETF races than it did with its bitcoin fund, GBTC, which was hammered with outflows and eventually ceded its throne as the largest of such funds.

• It helps that the mini ether ETF will charge nothing initially, and then 0.15% after 6 months, or until $2 billion in assets under management has been reached.

Zoom out: If you like that price, value meals at fast food places are going to keep on.

🪨 On the one hand, BlackRock's bitcoin ETF had its best day of inflows since March. (CoinDesk)

🌋 On the other hand, defunct exchange Mt. Gox moved over $300 million worth of bitcoin to BitStamp. (CoinDesk)

🐧 Founders Fund backed Pudgy Penguins' owners in an $11 million round to support a new consumer-oriented blockchain called Abstract. (Axios)

🇵🇾 Hive Digital is opening 100 megawatts worth of hydroelectric mining capacity in Paraguay. (The Miner Mag)

Franklin Templeton tweeted this adaptation of the Roaring Kitty meme that kicked off a nostalgia run in GameStop, likely in celebration of its ether ETF launch today. (And the approval they got for it last night.)

💭 Our thought bubble: Maybe it was a signal to sit up and watch ether prices pop, which has not happened so far.