According to the application, the ETF will track stocks in an index that measures the performance of gold and digital asset mining companies.
VanEck, a financial services firm with almost $82 billion in assets under management, has applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a new exchange-traded fund that will invest in gold and Bitcoin (BTC) mining operations.
According to a filing with the Shares and Exchange Commission on March 3, the fund will invest in securities in an index that tracks the performance of gold and digital asset mining companies. It would not invest directly or through derivatives in cryptocurrency. The document, however, made no mention of a ticker or a cost ratio.
VanEck ETF Trust files with the SEC-VanEck Digital Assets Mining ETF https://t.co/pSaogEzRVW
— Exchangetradedfunds 🌎 (@ETFsinfo) March 8, 2022
Concerns about a new round of US regulation linger in the air when news of VanEck’s potential fund breaks. Joe Biden, the president of the United States, is due to sign an executive order outlining the country’s cryptocurrency strategy later this week.
The directive directs government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, to submit reports on the steps they’ve taken to protect digital assets by the end of the year. The administration has been chastised for failing to provide sufficient clarification on bitcoin regulation.
The SEC denied a VanEck ETF that would have bought BTC directly in November. Despite years of lobbying by industry leaders, the regulator has yet to sanction such a fund. Regulators may be delaying the licencing of such ETFs until a more solid regulatory framework is in place, as the foundation for regulating the crypto industry begins.
VanEck announced the launch of its first bitcoin fund earlier this year. The exchange-traded note, or ETN, is listed on the Deutsche Boerse Xetra and SIX Swiss exchanges, providing exposure to BTC, ETH, DOT, SOL, TRX, AVAX, and MATIC.
VanEck launched its Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP) in April of last year, which invests in companies that supply cryptocurrency exchanges, miners, and other crypto-related securities. The company also created the Bitcoin Strategy Fund (XBTF), which invests in Bitcoin futures contracts with a cash settlement.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
