VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF will likely launch next week as crypto prices reach ATHs

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has likely approved asset manager VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF), with trading expected to begin on Monday.

In a Wednesday filing with the SEC, VanEck said the public offering of its Bitcoin (BTC) Strategy ETF, which offers exposure to the crypto asset through futures contracts, would begin “as soon as practicable” after the effective date of the filing, Saturday. This suggests the company could list its shares on an exchange as early as Monday.

Unlike exchange-traded funds offering direct exposure to BTC or Ether (ETH) — which the SEC has not approved — VanEck’s ETF would provide exposure through cash-settled BTC future contracts traded on exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, pooled investment vehicles, and other exchange-traded products. Having first applied for the BTC futures-linked ETF in August, VanEck could follow ProShares, which on Monday launched its Bitcoin Strategy ETF on the New York Stock Exchange.

Related: Crypto market cap breaks $2.5T — Is this the season for ETFs?

The potential VanEck ETF listing comes as BTC and ETH prices reached new all-time highs. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, the prices of BTC and ETH are $65,955 and $4,003, respectively. Largely driven by Bitcoin's price movement, the total crypto market capitalization has also reached a new high of roughly $2.63 trillion.