VanEck Tries Again for Bitcoin Strategy ETF With SEC

Investment firm VanEck filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a bitcoin strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF) with exposure to bitcoin futures and other investment vehicles.

• VanEck unsuccessfully attempted to list such a fund with the SEC in 2017.
• The investment firm is resubmitting the application with minor amendments in the hope that the greater maturity of the futures market will make for a different outcome this time around.
• "VanEck was first to file for a bitcoin futures ETF in 2017," Gabor Gurbacs, the firm's director of digital assets strategy, told CoinDesk. "We are committed to bring to market a bitcoin ETF. Futures markets have matured a significantly since 2017."
• The fund is billed as an actively managed ETF with exposure to bitcoin futures and other investment vehicles and products that provide exposure to bitcoin, according to the prospectus filed Monday. These may include crypto ETFs listed in other jurisdictions, such as Canada.
• The SEC has yet to approve a crypto ETF despite having received well over a dozen applications. Recent comments by Chair Gary Gensler have indicated that futures products may be considered.
• The fund will not invest in bitcoin or other digital assets directly.
• Investments will be made through a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of VanEck and managed by Gregory Krenzer.
• The prospectus is similar to one VanEck filed in June for a bitcoin futures mutual fund, also managed by Krenzer.
• It is also similar to one filed by Invesco last week, which was billed as providing exposure to bitcoin through investing in futures and other products such as ETFs listed outside the U.S.