Crypto asset manager Valkyrie has filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to trade an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with exposure to bitcoin mining companies on the Nasdaq exchange.
In an SEC filing Wednesday, Valkyrie said his Bitcoin Miners ETF will not invest directly in Bitcoin (Bitcoin), but at least 80% of its net worth would provide exposure to the crypto-asset through the securities of companies that derive “at least 50% of their revenue or profits” from BTC mining or the provision of mining-related hardware or software achieve. The filing added Valkyrie would invest up to 20% of the ETF’s net assets in companies that hold “a significant portion of their net worth” in Bitcoin.
Valkyrie launched a Bitcoin Strategy ETF in October 2021 that offered indirect exposure to BTC with subsequent futures contracts with cash settlement SEC approval for a similar ETF by ProShares. At the time of publication, the fund’s shares were trading for $14.93 on the Nasdaq, having fallen more than 40% since opening on Oct. 22.
In 2021, the SEC first approved investment vehicles linked to BTC derivatives, however did not give the green light to every bitcoin exchange traded fund in the United States. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF is similar to the digital asset mining ETF proposed by asset manager VanEck in December 2021, which plans to invest 80% of its total assets in securities of crypto mining companies – the regulator has until February 14 to make a decision about it to meet the fund or extend the deadline.
Related: Why now? It took the SEC eight years to authorize a Bitcoin ETF in the US
While many crypto ETF applications in the United States are still under review, Canadian regulators have approved ETFs with direct exposure to crypto by Fidelity, Purpose Investments and the Evolve Fund Group. At a House Committee hearing in December, Brian Brooks, former Acting Comptroller of the Currency said the United States has “undoubtedly” lagged behind other countries in the approval of crypto ETFs.
