SEC Approves VanEck to Launch the Second Bitcoin Futures ETF in the U.S. Markets

A few days after ProShares debuted the first-ever Exchange-Traded Fund linked to Bitcoin futures in the US public markets, VanEck asset management firm announced plans to launch such a product.

According to a post-effective filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, October 20, VanEck revealed that it had secured approval from the market regulator to launch its Bitcoin-linked ETF.

The SEC has given VanEck the greenlight to launch its fund after October 23, on a Saturday, and therefore that points to the potential beginning date of Monday, October 25.

VanEck’s Bitcoin futures ETF will only invest in cash-settled Bitcoin futures traded on exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission like the CME Group.

According to SEC’s filing on Wednesday, “the fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (’ETF’) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in standardized, cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts (’Bitcoin Futures’) traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (’CFTC’), such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the ‘CME’). The fund does not invest in bitcoin or other digital assets directly.”

VanEck’s Bitcoin strategy ETF, which will carry the ticker symbol “XBTF”, is set to start trading after October 23 on the Cboe BZX exchange.

VanEck product will give investors exposure to the world’s largest crypto asset by allowing them to trade shares that represent contracts betting at Bitcoin price.

Bitcoin Investing Rises

VanEck is therefore set to give investors another choice of a futures-based product after Tuesday’s launch of the ProShares Bitcoin strategy ETF.

Last week, the US SEC officially permitted the launch of what is regarded as the first-ever Bitcoin futures ETF, which began trading this week, immediately becoming the largest ETF debut in US history.

Shares of ProShares Bitcoin futures ETF started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, October 19, under the ticker symbol “BITO” ProShares, with reports showing that the ETF was purchased $570 million in assets on its launch day. The ProShares Bitcoin ETF was the second-most heavily traded fund, landing turnover of almost $1 billion with more than 24 million shares exchanged, according to Bloomberg data.

The approvals of ProShares and VanEck’s products mark the first time US investors can purchase and trade shares of an ETF directly tied to Bitcoin. The US follows the footsteps of Canada and some other European countries, which have already allowed trading of Bitcoin ETFs and other exchange-traded products.