In brief
- Kryptoin, an asset manager focused on crypto investment products, has re-filed for a Bitcoin ETF.
- It’s the company’s second stab at one of crypto’s most eagerly anticipated products.
- And WisdomTree’s ETF is now under review by the SEC.
Kryptoin Investment Advisors, a financial services company helmed by Jason Toussaint, re-filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for a Bitcoin ETF.
It’s the asset manager’s second attempt at an ETF, or exchange-traded fund. In October 2019, Kryptoin proposed the “Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF Trust,” which would be listed on NYSE Arca. In today’s re-filing, that’s been changed to Cboe’s BZX Exchange.
Kryptoin’s filing comes during an uptick of applications—and an approval appears increasingly plausible, if not likely. The SEC also announced today that it’s started its review of WisdomTree’s application for a Bitcoin ETF, which the fund manager filed for in March. The SEC is also reviewing a filing from VanEck.
US regulators have yet to approve a Bitcoin ETF, depriving US-based crypto traders of a convenient, retail-friendly investment vehicle for the notoriously volatile asset. There are currently eight pending applications for Bitcoin ETFs, from companies including VanEck, NYDIG, and Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital. The Winklevoss twins were the first to attempt a Bitcoin ETF with a since-abandoned filing back in 2013.
Here's the full list of North American bitcoin ETF filings that i'm aware of ... pic.twitter.com/HxuMGuQDu7
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) April 9, 2021
Canada and Brazil already have their own Bitcoin ETFs, and crypto executives are bullish on the prospect of an American one. Earlier today, the CEO of Morgan Creek Capital Management was reported as saying that a Bitcoin ETF “is going to happen.”
For now, the top dog in the realm of US-based crypto investment products is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust from Grayscale Investments. It works a little like an ETF, though with several key differences. For one, whereas an ETF functions like a stock, Grayscale’s trust locks investors into holding shares for months. That’s allowed GBTC to trade at a discount for over a month; a Bitcoin ETF should hew closer to the price of the underlying digital asset.
Grayscale, too, has said it plans for a proper ETF.