Asset manager Valkyrie has launched a second exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to Bitcoin (BTC) futures following its listing of a spot BTC ETF in January.
In a Feb. 22 announcement, Valkyrie said shares of its Bitcoin Futures Leveraged Strategy ETF were available for trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BTFX. The asset manager described the fund as a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF with investment results two times the “performance of the CME Bitcoin Futures market [...] rolled on a scheduled basis.”
The launch followed Valkyrie introducing a similar investment vehicle tied to Bitcoin futures to the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BTFD — likely an homage to the “buy the fucking dip” phrase popular among crypto users. The asset manager was also one of the first allowed to list and trade shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, following approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
“With Bitcoin so much in the focus right now, traders and investors are looking at how they can use financial instruments to tap into this space,” said Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald.
Valkyrie is launching a 2x Bitcoin Futures ETF today $BTFX which will compete with $BITX which has $350m already. That said, there's like 15 leveraged spot btc ETFs in registration, one or two of which will prob take off and make it tougher for the futures ones pic.twitter.com/wIoMXatS4F
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) February 22, 2024
Related: Volatility Shares Trust aims for listing of leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF
Before the SEC’s landmark approval of spot BTC ETFs on Jan. 10, many asset managers turned to vehicles tied to Bitcoin futures to offer investors exposure to cryptocurrencies. ProShares and Valkyrie were some of the first firms to launch BTC futures ETFs in the U.S. in October 2021.
The SEC has continued to push deadlines or otherwise delay decisions on approval or disapproval of a spot Ether (ETH) ETF, similar to before the approval of a Bitcoin investment vehicle. Some experts expect the regulator will have decided by May 23, the final deadline for a spot ETH ETF from asset manager VanEck.
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