Media set the date for the start of trading of the first U.S. futures Bitcoin ETF

On Tuesday, October 19, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) will begin trading a ETF based on bitcoin futures from ProShares, according to The New York Times.

The ETF will give investors direct access to cryptocurrency through a regular brokerage account, without the need to custody digital assets.

“The year 2021 will be remembered for this milestone,” said ProShares CEO Michael Sapir.

In his words, investors are interested in cryptocurrency but are reluctant to use unregulated digital-asset exchanges. They seek “easy access to bitcoin in a form that preserves market integrity,” he said.

The head of ProShares noted that the fund, based on futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), effectively operates as a bitcoin ETF, although it is not tied to the spot price. The spot price for cryptocurrencies is difficult to determine, as the price gap between venues can reach up to 5%, Sapir said.

Many experts say CME futures best reflect sentiment in the bitcoin market.

“This is an exciting step, but not the last,” said NYSE’s head of exchange-traded products Douglas Yones.

In his view, a number of crypto-related products are expected to gain approval soon.

On October 15, SEC quietly approved the ProShares product launch. The regulator did not respond to the company’s filing within the 75-day period. Technically, this meant the Commission did not object to listing the fund.

That same day Bloomberg added the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ticker BITO) to its terminal.

Earlier, senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas saw a “good sign” for registering bitcoin-futures-based funds in an updated product prospectus from Valkyrie Investments and a new ARK Invest filing. Both firms added tickers to the form, which typically signals the final stage of regulator approval, he noted.

Back in August Balchunas suggested that the SEC would approve the first such filing by the end of October.

Analysts at Arcane Research noted that in the remaining days of the month the Commission should also issue responses to the prospectuses for bitcoin-futures ETFs from Invesco, VanEck, Valkyrie Investments and Galaxy Digital.

Earlier in August, SEC chairman Gary Gensler said the regulator would consider a Bitcoin ETF if they were based on CME futures.