HODL: VanEck Bitcoin ETF Uses Laser-Eyed Lingo for Ticker

VanEck, one of the biggest contenders in the Bitcoin ETF race, has revealed it’s staying true to the orange-pilled community by choosing the ticker “HODL” for its potential crypto investment product.

In a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund manager said the ticker—a security’s symbol trading on a stock exchange—for its VanEck Bitcoin Trust if it gets approved will be the old-school mantra for diehard Bitcoiners.

Depending on who you ask, “HODL” was either a misspelling of “hold” or an acronym for the phrase “hold on for dear life.” It’s been popular with Bitcoiners to describe an investment strategy of buying the digital asset and never, ever selling.

VanEck is a prestigious mutual and exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager which has applied to release a Bitcoin ETF. It is one of the many high-profile firms hoping to drop the long-awaited crypto investment product next year.

VanEck, a New York-based firm, tried to register a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC back in 2018. It has since received various denials—like other applicants—from Wall Street’s top regulator.

A spot Bitcoin ETF is an investment vehicle that lets people buy shares on a stock exchange that track the price of Bitcoin. It is, according to experts, an easy way for investors to get exposure to the niche and sometimes complex world of cryptocurrencies without having to buy and hold digital coins themselves.

Bitcoin ETF Approval Window Opens Soon—Here Are the Dates to Watch

As Bitcoin ETF decision deadlines loom, there's growing interest in figuring out when, exactly, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will make its announcement. There's a handful of spot Bitcoin ETF applications pending with the regulator. The SEC missed another window for a decision, choosing instead to extend all of its deadlines. But but there's also been word that the SEC has met with Grayscale and BlackRock in the interim to discuss amendments to their applications. To be clear, the...

Bitcoin ETFs exist elsewhere in the world, but the SEC has never given the green light to one in the U.S. Wall Street titans—including BlackRock—are now vying to offer their own such fund.

Analysts predict that one will get approval as soon as January and could lead to a flood of capital into the Bitcoin and wider digital asset markets.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.