Following a Friday report by Coinfomania that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering approving a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), the regulator has finally given a green light for the investment vehicle to be traded in the country’s market.
According to a new report, the American provider of specialized exchange-traded products, ProShares, is set to roll out the U.S.’s first bitcoin futures ETF.
The Maryland-based firm made this revelation in a post-effective amended prospectus filed on Friday, October 15. ProShares was one of the firms that filed for its Bitcoin Strategy ETF this past summer.
The scheduled date for the listing is Monday, October 18, under the ticker “BITO”, according to the filing. However, the fund may not commence trading straight away on that day.
Although the SEC has not made a formal announcement about this new development, the approval has been confirmed by several sources aware of the matter.
The top U.S. exchange for the listing and trading of ETFs, NYSE Arca confirmed “its approval for listing,” meaning that investors will have the liberty to commence the fund’s trading operations without encountering any issues with the SEC.
The crypto community is optimistic about the approval of the product and believes the financial watchdog will not go back on its approval after SEC Chair Gary Gensler earlier this year disclosed his support for the project, saying that it offers more investor protections since it is regulated.
Although the SEC is yet to approve a Bitcoin ETF, citing several regulatory reasons, since the financial watchdog has in the past rejected several Bitcoin ETF applications.
The approval of the Bitcoin Futures ETF represents a big win for the industry and could lead to the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
Other fund providers, including Invesco and Valkyrie, have also filed applications to launch ETFs that could follow ProShares’ lead in entering the market in the coming weeks.
