US SEC Approves Volt Equity’s ETF, Allowing Investors to Gain Exposure to Bitcoin
Nicholas Otieno Oct 08, 2021 08:25
US investors seeking diversification to the cryptocurrency market will be able to buy the Volt Equity’s ETF that offers exposures to public companies holding Bitcoin.
As investors are anxiously waiting for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a Bitcoin EFT, the regulator has taken a step closer in that direction by giving approval of a fund called the “Volt Bitcoin Revolution ETF.”
Previously, the SEC has approved the Volt crypto industry revolution and tech ETF on Tuesday, October 5.
According to SEC’s filing, the Volt Equity’s ETF aims to track so-called “Bitcoin Industry Revolution Companies”, which are defined as companies that hold a majority of their net assets in Bitcoin or derive a majority of their profit or revenue from Bitcoin-related activities like lending, mining, transacting, or manufacturing mining equipment.
Tad Pak, the founder and CEO of Volt Equity, talked about the development and said that the fund would offer investors easy access to firms with significant exposure to Bitcoin. In other words, the new “Volt Bitcoin Revolution ETF” service is set to allow investors to create a portfolio of “Bitcoin revolution companies” that hold a significant amount of the cryptocurrency on their balance sheets.
“I’m a strong believer in bitcoin and was really excited about launching an ETF that could take advantage of the coming bitcoin revolution. We can get exposure to Bitcoin without necessarily holding the coin, especially with options positions,” Pak noted.
Pak explained that the fund’s assets would consist of shares of about 30 companies, including Tesla, Square, Coinbase, PayPal, MicroStrategy, as well as Twitter, which recently made Bitcoin tipping as part of its operations, including Bitcoin mining firms like Bitfarms, Marathon Digital Holdings, which ahold Bitcoin in their corporate treasures, and other related companies.
Pak stated that the fund, which will trade under the ticker symbol BTCR, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the next three weeks.
He further mentioned that the Volt ETF will not directly invest in Bitcoin and therefore will be less volatile than pure cryptocurrency trading its value in the market as the plunge in Bitcoin price does not have a major impact on the shares of companies like PayPal, Tesla, and others.
Instead, the fund aims to put at least 80% of its net assets in “Bitcoin revolution companies” options and ETFs with exposure to such companies and the rest will go on broad equity markets to offset the risk of the portfolio, Pak said.
Park stated that the fund is the fifth ETF that San Francisco-based Volt Equity has unveiled and revealed that it was by far the hardest, noting numerous delays and repeated back and forth with the SEC.
“A year ago, an ETF like this wouldn’t have been possible. It wasn’t easy to get this through, but we’re really glad that they finally approved it. We hope this is a crack in the dam,” Park stated.
SEC’s Approval May Happen Any Time Soon
Although the SEC’s approval of the Volt ETF is still far from approving a pure Bitcoin ETF, it indicates that the agency’s hardlines against bitcoin may be softening slightly.
The approval signals that the SEC is likely to approve a Bitcoin ETF within this year.
The SEC under chairman Gary Gensler has been delaying its decision to approve the pileup of Bitcoin ETFs applications, but odds of approval this year are now likely. Recently SEC chairman Gary Gensler signalled that he would be more open to a Bitcoin futures ETF under strict rules.
With almost eight years stuck in limbo – amid fears of the potential for liquidity, fraud, and market manipulation concerns, so far, the US has not approved any Bitcoin ETF.
At least 18 issuers including WisdomTree Investments, Grayscale Investments, Fidelity Investments, are currently pursuing a Bitcoin ETF and the SEC has acknowledged at least six applications.
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