SEC Just Approves Closest Thing To A US Bitcoin ETF You Can Buy, So Far | Currency News | Financial and business news

• The US SEC has approved an ETF that tracks stocks with high bitcoin exposure.
• These companies either hold the majority of their net assets in bitcoin or derive the majority of their profits or income from bitcoin-related activities.
• The actively managed fund, Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF, was approved on October 5.
• Sign up for our daily newsletter here, 10 things before the opening bell.

A new exchange-traded fund can be as close as possible for investors to have a US bitcoin ETF – at least for now.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Volt Equity’s ETF, which aims to track companies that hold the majority of their net assets in bitcoin or derive the majority of their profits or income from bitcoin-related activities such as than mining, lending or manufacturing mining equipment. , according to Tad Pak, CEO of the fund.

He calls these “bitcoin revolution companies” and is considering MicroStrategy, Marathon Digital Holdings and Bitfarms, among others, for the actively managed fund.

Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF were approved on October 5 and will trade under the symbol BTCR. The news was first reported by the New York Times DealBook. Pak told Insider he hopes to go public on the New York Stock Exchange within the next three weeks.

“I strongly believe in bitcoin and was really excited to launch an ETF that could take advantage of the next bitcoin revolution,” he said. “We can get exposure to bitcoin without necessarily owning the coin, especially with options positions.”

This back door investment strategy is needed as the SEC, under chairman Gary Gensler, has pushed back the approval of bitcoin ETFs – with nearly two dozen stuck in limbo – amid fears of potential market manipulation. . So far, the United States has yet to approve a single one, although Gensler recently noted that it is more open to a bitcoin futures ETF. In Canada, however, Bitcoin ETFs are available now.

As a result, the Volt ETF will not invest directly in bitcoin. Instead, it seeks to place at least 80% of its net assets in “bitcoin revolution companies”, options and ETFs with exposure to these companies. The rest will go to the general stock markets to offset the risk of the portfolio.

The ETF will also look at metrics like the Stock-to-Flow model, which assesses the current stock of bitcoin against the flow of new bitcoin mined that year.

Pak said it was the first ETF to focus on bitcoin, compared to others that invest in a wider range of digital assets.

“Looks like it’s okay, but nobody’s done this before,” he told Insider.

The fund is the fifth ETF launched by San Francisco-based Volt Equity. But Pak said it was by far the most difficult, noting repeated back and forths with the SEC.

While the reason for the many delays is unclear, Pak, a retail tech investor, speculated it was because the fund’s original name was Volt Bitcoin Revolution ETF.

“It was very difficult to get this through, but we’re really happy that they finally approved it,” he noted.