Digital asset management firm Valkyrie Funds, LLC, has launched its newly-approved Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which now trades at Nasdaq with the ticker symbol BTF. The new product was initially planned to have BTFD as its ticker symbol, but the firm later decided to backtrack on that decision.Valkyrie’s new investment product is a Bitcoin ETF, which means that it is an exchange-traded fund that directly and solely tracks the value of Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Bitcoin futures. Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF is the second of its kind to be launched within the month, after the approval and release of ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF about a week ago, which also started trading this week.
“The futures contracts held by the fund are cash delivered and available from CME Group. This fund is the first in a planned suite of ETFs from Valkyrie designed to enable investors to participate in the blockchain and digital asset space.” the firm said in a statement.
As a futures contract, the Valkyrie ETF (Nasdaq:BTF) performs as a financial contract that is tied to Bitcoin futures, which means that its underlying reference asset is Bitcoin. Valkyrie’s experience as a specialized alternative asset management firm will be crucial to the success of this offering, given how the firm is playing in the currently blurry boundary between traditional finance and the accelerating crypto sector.
“This Bitcoin Strategy ETF is a major leap forward for this asset class. It enables investors to participate in the digital asset markets through a regulated, transparent product that trades on a trusted, reliable exchange and can be bought and sold as easily as any other investment currently available.” shares Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald.
Tim McCourt, CME’s Global Head of Equity Index and Alternative Investment Products, claims that the introduction if Bitcoin futures ETFs such as theirs and ProShares’—as well as those that are still currently in the approval list by the Securities and Exchange Commission—marks “an important milestone for crypto derivatives” in the sense that these new and hybridized financial products will be “highly complementary to futures, creating new opportunities for a broad array of institutional and retail investors.”
“The approval of ETFs based on CME Bitcoin futures is a positive development for the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, and a reflection of the strong growth and client demand for exposure to Bitcoin,” McCourt opined.
According to Valkyrie, the release of this product is well-timed and was specifically made with the intent of expanding crypto exposure for the general securities market in the U.S. The firm cited a study by Gemini, wherein it was shown that roughly 21 million U.S. citizens already own crypto, with a projection that the number will rise to more than double to 51 million by 2022.Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
