In Brief:
- SEC had considered an application from Proshares for Bitcoin Strategy ETF
- If SEC approves the application, It will be the first time any crypto assets are listed on New York Stock Exchange
- The ETF is expected to launch on Oct 18 under the ticker $BITO.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission accepted the registration from Proshares for Bitcoin Strategy ETF to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange’s Arca. This is another milestone for the crypto-based platform in the United States.
Yet there is no formal approval given by the SEC at the time of writing. But the Proshares announcement seems like an agency is not in the mood to block the listing at this point.
SEC publicized a notice on Oct. 16, the authority has raised the greenlight for the registration of Securities from Proshares Trust’s Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund. This will give exposure to the crypto asset with future contracts. Note that it will not boost the spot market.
Moreover, Proshares filed a post-effective amendment prospectus, in which it stated the expected launch of the ETF could be on Oct 18 under the ticker $BITO.
“It’s an encouraging sign for the future of crypto to see SEC Chairman Gensler get comfortable in helping mainstream investors more easily access bitcoin exposure,” ETFStore President Nate Geraci said. “The availability of a bitcoin ETF will now bring more investors under the crypto tent and facilitate greater education across the space.”
If the SEC approves the application from Proshares, then it will be listed on the Newyork Stock Exchange market, Arca. An analyst from news giant Bloomberg, James Seyffart posted the tweet, in which he stated that the Proshares Bitcoin Strategy ETF would be listed with the ticker symbol BITO with 95 Basis points.
As per the current scenario, SEC could only approve futures ETFs this year as SEC chairman Gary Gensler gave a sign in the comment that he will not allow a spot market ETF to launch in near future. The SEC has always cited market manipulation as a reason to reject the ETFs.
Several other companies including Invesco and Valkyrie also applied to launch similar ETFs. These applications can also follow ProShares in the weeks ahead.
