VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF also ready for listing

A second Bitcoin ETF, issued by the financial firm VanEck, could be listed on October 25.

The news comes just days after the approval of BITO, ProShares’ NYSE-listed ETF, which set record volumes, contributing to Bitcoin’s new ATH. 

VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF 

The firm had already filed its first ETF last March with the SEC, but it had not been approved.

Now, however, VanEck has reported that it has been given the green light by the SEC to list after October 23. It is therefore very likely that the new ETF will be listed on Monday, October 25.

VanEck’s new ETF will be called XBTF and will have Bitcoin futures contracts as its underlying, just like Proshares’. Nate Geraci, co-founder and President of the ETF Institute, enthusiastically tweeted that. 

“Vaneck is joining the bitcoin futures ETF party next week”.

Following this news, as Geraci said, Bitcoin itself has evidently also joined the party, updating its all-time high to almost $67,000.

The Proshares Bitcoin ETF

The first day of the Proshares ETF listing saw record volumes traded, reaching around $280 million in the first twenty minutes, and then closing with nearly $1 billion in traded assets.

The SEC opens to Bitcoin futures ETFs

While the SEC continues to be very cautious about Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and directly related financial instruments, it appears to be taking a different approach to derivatives, not least in view of the words of Chairman Gary Gensler.

In August, Gensler openly referred to a possible favourable opinion from the SEC regarding ETFs with underlying Bitcoin Futures, but not with the cryptocurrency itself. 

Surely this favourable attitude does not depend so much on greater protection for investors (it is well known that futures are considered among the riskiest financial products), but rather on the fact that Bitcoin Futures contracts are listed on the CME and therefore subject to regulation by the American financial authorities.

Other Bitcoin ETFs

According to rumours, four more Bitcoin futures ETFs may be given the green light by the SEC in the coming weeks: 

• Invesco Bitcoin Strategy ETF, 
• Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF, 
• Galaxy Bitcoin Strategy ETF,
• AdvisorShares Managed Bitcoin ETF.

The world’s first Bitcoin ETF to be listed was in February 2021 by Purpose Investment on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada, which has Bitcoin itself as its underlying. Canada also saw the first-ever multi-crypto ETF listed in September, which is based on both BTC and ETH. 

Anthony Bertolino, Vice President of iTrustCapital explained:

“The launch of the first bitcoin-linked ETF in the U.S. will bolster the broader crypto market and help an entirely new investor class experience the benefits of bitcoin as a legitimate asset”.

Bertolino also said that investors will soon want an ETF with the spot currency underlying it. Speaking to CNBC, he added: 

“One of the most attractive aspects of bitcoin is that it’s a bearer asset with a highly liquid 24/7 spot market. Investors will almost certainly come to desire a spot based, physically backed bitcoin ETF and 10 years from now, I would even expect some of the bitcoin ETFs to allow physical redemption for those that want it”.