A new bitcoin-linked ETF is just around the corner as the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF received approval for listing on the Nasdaq exchange, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald said “an increased focus and desire to gain exposure to bitcoin miners from investors” prompted the company to apply on January 26 to the SEC to offer the exchange-traded fund, which will invest 80% or more of its net assets in firms deriving at least half of their profit from bitcoin mining and related activities. The remainder of the ETF’s assets will be invested in companies holding a “significant portion” of their net assets in bitcoin, per the January 26 filing.
The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF will start trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday under the ticker symbol “WGMI,” the asset manager said in an emailed statement Monday.
Valkyrie was the second asset manager to offer a bitcoin futures ETF in U.S. markets in October after ProShares debuted its ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) in the New York Stock Exchange. On its first day of trading, BITO finished among the top 15 ETF launches of all time after trading $250 million worth of shares in its first 15 minutes, and on its second day became the fastest ETF ever to hit $1 billion in assets.
Bitcoin saw increased appetite by institutional investors last year as larger corporations began dabbling in the digital currency. Tesla invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin at the beginning of 2021, now worth nearly $2 billion. MicroStrategy, the biggest corporate bitcoin holder, hasn’t stopped accumulating the digital currency and recently added thousands of fresh BTC to its holdings.
Even though U.S. investors keep showing an increased interest in Bitcoin, the SEC is yet to allow the listing of a spot bitcoin ETF in the country, triggering buyers to seek alternative avenues, like derivatives-based offerings and those that invest in Bitcoin-related securities.
