Valkyrie renews filing for a bitcoin ETF following BlackRock’s
Numerous market players are vying for the SEC’s approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. This rush for approval began after Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed to offer a spot bitcoin ETF with the SEC
Valkyrie Digital Assets, a cryptocurrency fund manager, has submitted an S-1 application form with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund.
The company aims to have its fund listed on the Nasdaq exchange using the ticker symbol BRRR. This move comes in the wake of the growing interest in digital assets, spurred by Invesco’s recent attempt to establish a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Valkyrie is now joining the queue of entities seeking approval from the US securities regulator for crypto-related, exchange-traded products.
The main objective of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, as outlined in the application, is to offer investors a convenient and cost-effective avenue for investing in Bitcoin. The fund’s investment strategy revolves around tracking the performance of the value of Bitcoin, specifically referencing the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate – New York Variant (the “Index”).
The race for SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF has intensified as multiple market players seek to enter the market. The catalyst for the recent surge in applications was BlackRock, the largest asset manager globally, filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.
Notably, Valkyrie has a track record in Bitcoin-related ETFs. It introduced the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF), the second BTC futures ETF in the US, in October 2021. In December of the same year, it launched the Valkyrie Balance Sheet Opportunities (VBB) fund, which was later liquidated in October 2022.
Valkyrie also manages the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), a fund that tracks the securities of companies involved in Bitcoin mining operations. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of firms that derive a minimum of 50% of their profit from bitcoin mining. This includes mining farms and companies producing specialized chips, hardware and software or other services to companies engaged in bitcoin mining.
Valkyrie’s mining fund is actively managed, but doesn’t invest directly in bitcoin or companies with BTC on their corporate balance sheets.
Following the US regulators’ reluctance to approve a spot bitcoin ETF, many applicants have turned their focus to products offering exposure to the crypto futures market, bitcoin miners, or companies hold crypto on their balance sheets. Valkyrie itself was ordered by the SEC to withdraw its application for a leveraged bitcoin futures ETF.
The new offering follows the successful debut of the Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF on Nasdaq, which was preceded by ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). The latter was the first Bitcoin futures ETF to get listed on a US exchange and accumulated more than $1.5 billion in assets in less than a month of trading.
