VanEck Bitcoin futures ETF is launching on CBOE on November 16

One of the United States’ first asset managers to file for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), VanEck, has finally announced it is launching its own Bitcoin futures ETF.

An official notice by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) said that VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF would start trading on CBOE starting November 16, under the ticker symbol XBTF.

VanEck’s new ETF is joining the increasing number of BTC futures-based ETFs launched in the States, including the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which had become the first Bitcoin futures ETF that started trading on October 19 of 2021, on the New York Stock Exchange.

 Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF had also started trading on Nasdaq in late October under the BTF ticker.

CBOE’s listing of XBTF has come only a couple of days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission had been reported to have officially rejected VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF application. The SEC had argued that the proposed rule change on the list of ETF hadn’t met standards for the prevention of “fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” or that of protection of investors and the public interest.

Established back in 1955, VanEck is a US-based asset manager that specializes in thematic and gold-based ETFs and mutual funds. VanEck is popular in the crypto community as one of the first firms in the United States that filed for a Bitcoin futures ETF. The firm has been noted to have submitted multiple BTC ETF filings with the SEC since then. However, it has only managed to get its futures ETF approved to date.

 SEC Chair Gary Gensler had previously hinted that the SEC would show more openness in accepting ETFs based on crypto futures rather than through direct exposure.

However, a list of companies, including the Bitwise Asset Management, remains bullish on a potential pure Bitcoin ETF, with the company even deciding to drop its futures ETF filing as per last week’s statement. 

Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise, Matt Hougan, was noted as saying that ultimately, many investors want a spot Bitcoin ETF, and they think “that’s possible.”

Therefore,he continued, Bitwise would continue pursuing that goal, and they would continue to be on the lookout for “other ways to help investors” so that they can get access “to the incredible opportunities in crypto.”