BlockFi Files For Bitcoin Futures ETF In The U.S., According To SEC Filing
According to an SEC filing, 8 October, the lending platform BlockFi is the latest to join the bitcoin futures ETF race.
BlockFi, a Bitcoin lending platform, has plans to offer a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., according to a new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm is the latest to join a race that many market analysts believe could happen this month.
According to Bloomberg report, its ETF analysts are “very bullish on approval” of a bitcoin futures ETF in October. They say that four offerings are likely to receive the SEC approval. BlockFi’s ETF could be the fifth, but it is unlikely to receive approval before ProShares, Valkyrie, VanEck, or Galaxy, all of which filed first.
U.S. securities regulators have been deliberating for years whether to approve their first Bitcoin ETF. Last Friday, the SEC announced it would delay its decision on four Bitcoin ETFs by 45 days, pushing back the timelines on the Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust and Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF to November 21, December 8, December 11 and December 24, respectively.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, tweeted the company’s latest analysis of bitcoin futures ETFs filings and their odds of being approved. ProShares leads the list, followed by Valkyrie.
Here's our latest odds/thoughts on heading into what could be the home stretch via @JSeyff in new note out today. pic.twitter.com/JT0EcQiLpb
According to BlockFi’s October 8 filing, the firm’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF is seeking registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The fund would invest in cash-settled futures contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), short-duration fixed income securities, and cash or cash equivalent investments.
The filing reads:
“The fund seeks to invest in bitcoin futures so that the total value of the bitcoin to which the fund has economic exposure is equal to approximately 100% of the net assets of the fund.”
But the exposure to bitcoin futures will be indirect through investments in a wholly-owned subsidiary organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands.
BlockFi is planning to list the Bitcoin Strategy ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange and be advised by Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC, which will have overall responsibility for the general management and administration of the fund.
