Cryptocurrency market observers are wondering if a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be in the works from Blackrock (BLK), which filed for a corporation named "iShares Ethereum Trust" in Delaware. The price of Ether (ETH/USD) spiked roughly 7% before paring back some of those gains.

Blackrock made a similar move with iShares Bitcoin Trust roughly one week before applying for a spot bitcoin ETF with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The possibility of a spot bitcoin ETF receiving approval from the SEC has been all the talk in the crypto industry ever since Blackrock originally filed for its offering in June of this year. Bitcoin's (BTC/USD) price is up more than 40% since that application was filed. Analysts from Bloomberg, JPMorgan Chase, and elsewhere see an approval of at least one spot bitcoin ETF by January of next year as very likely.

A number of futures-based Ether ETFs were already launched roughly one month ago, but they have failed to gain much traction. At this time, it is unclear if Blackrock's potential Ether ETF would be based on futures or spot offerings. It is thought that a spot Ether ETF would have major implications for the crypto asset in terms of putting it on a similar regulatory footing as bitcoin in the eyes of the SEC.