After successfully launching a traded product in Europe, Vaneck has now submitted a new proposal for a traded fund (ETF) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under former President Jay Clayton, the SEC has never approved a bitcoin ETF. However, Clayton has resigned and changes are possible from the Biden administration.
The first Bitcoin ETF entry since Clayton left
Vaneck, the New York-based investment management company, filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 30 to list and trade the Vaneck Bitcoin Trust. According to the deposit, the sale of the fund’s shares will begin “As soon as possible after the effective date of this registration statement”.
“The Vaneck Bitcoin Trust (” Trust “) is a publicly traded fund that issues common shares of beneficial interest (” Shares “) traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange Inc.”, the document describes. “The investment objective of the Trust is to reflect the performance of Mvis Cryptocompare Bitcoin Benchmark Rate less the expenses of the Trust’s operations.”
The filing adds that in order to achieve its investment objective:
The trust will hold bitcoin and will evaluate its shares daily based on the reported Bitcoin Mvis Cryptocompare Bitcoin reference rate.
This rate is calculated based on the exchanges that MV Index Solutions GmbH (Mvis) considers to be the top five bitcoin exchanges based on the Cryptocompare Exchange Benchmark analysis report. Vaneck Digital Assets is the sponsor of the Trust and Delaware Trust Company is the agent.
“Except in the event of a liquidation or extraordinary circumstances, the Trust does not intend to buy or sell bitcoin directly, although the Administrator may require the Bitcoin Custodian to sell bitcoin to pay certain expenses,” the record continues. “Instead, when the Trust sells or repurchases its Shares, it will do so in” in-kind “block transactions … at the value of the Trust’s net assets.”
Vaneck, director of digital assets strategy, Gabor Gurbacs, wrote on Twitter:
Bringing a physical bitcoin ETF to market in the US is a major priority for Vaneck. We are committed to supporting bitcoin-focused innovation and to continuing to work with regulators and market participants to achieve this goal.
In November, Vaneck launched a stock exchange (ETN) banknote in Europe. “ETN is physically supported by bitcoin and is listed on Deutsche Böerse Xetra,” Gurbacs explained.
The new bitcoin ETF deposit came a week after former SEC President Jay Clayton resigned on December 23. Under his leadership, the SEC has never approved a bitcoin ETF. President Donald Trump has appointed Commissioner Elad L. Roisman as the interim president of the SEC. Meanwhile, interim currency controller Brian Brooks warned that changes could come from the Biden administration. These may include some measures implemented by the Office of the Currency Controller (OCC).
Do you think the SEC will soon approve a bitcoin ETF now that Clayton is no longer president? Tell us in the comments section below.
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