Crypto Asset Manager Valkyrie Files for Bitcoin Futures ETF

The crypto trading firm Valkyrie Investments filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday for a bitcoin futures exchange traded fund (ETF).

• The "Fund will not directly invest in bitcoin," according to the proposal, but "will seek to purchase a number of bitcoin futures contracts so that the total value of the bitcoin underlying the futures contracts" in it is as close as possible "to 100%" of the fund's net assets.
• Valkyrie's filing follows less than a week after remarks at the Aspen Security Forum by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who noted that he would favor ETFs based on bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
• Atlanta-based asset manager Invesco has already applied for an ETF that would include exposure to futures, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Canadian bitcoin ETFs. (Grayscale is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk’s parent company.)
• Valkyrie raised $10 million in a Series A capital round to drive its ETF ambitions. It filed a bitcoin ETF prospectus this year and has been awaiting an SEC decision on its application along with other companies that have filed ETF proposals.