After the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighted ProShares Bitcoin futures ETF last week, according to an SEC filing today, the new ETF is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tomorrow, the 19th of October 2021.
A few months ago, ProShares filed for its Bitcoin Strategy ETF, a fund that is linked to bitcoin traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
The SEC filing stated, “The Fund is not yet available for sale. The Fund is scheduled to list and begin trading on the NYSE Arca on October 19, 2021.”
What they are saying
Unlike Bitcoin ETF applications that the regulator has previously rejected, the proposals by ProShares and Invesco Ltd. are based on futures contracts and were filed under mutual fund rules. This type of ETF seems to be approved by the SEC Chairman Gary Gensler who has said that it provided “significant investor protections.”
Douglas Yones, head of exchange-traded products at the NYSE, told the New York Times’ DealBook that, “This is an exciting step but not the last.”
The news of the approval of a bitcoin futures ETF sent Bitcoin’s price to trade above $60,000 trading zone on Friday, a that has not been traded since April 2021, before the market crash that sent Bitcoin trade as low as $29,000 according to Coinmarketcap.
ProShares press release stated, “BITO will offer investors an opportunity to gain exposure to bitcoin returns conveniently, through a brokerage account. BITO can be bought and sold like a stock and eliminates the need for an account at a cryptocurrency exchange and for a crypto wallet.”
The CEO of ProShares, Michael L. Sapir stated, “We believe a multitude of investors have been eagerly awaiting the launch of a bitcoin-linked ETF after years of efforts to launch one. BITO will open up exposure to bitcoin to a large segment of investors who have a brokerage account and are comfortable buying stocks and ETFs, but do not desire to go through the hassle and learning curve of establishing another account with a cryptocurrency provider and creating a bitcoin wallet or are concerned that these providers may be unregulated and subject to security risks.”
The ProShares press release concluded by stating, “BITO will continue the legacy of ETFs that provide investors convenient, liquid access to an asset class. 1993 is remembered for the first equity ETF, 2002 for the first bond ETF, and 2004 for the first gold ETF. 2021 will be remembered for the first cryptocurrency-linked ETF.”
Bitcoin trades $61,908, up 2.23% as of the time of this writing.