SEC approves Teucrium’s Bitcoin futures ETF

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the filing to launch Teucrium’s Bitcoin futures ETF.

According to the document, listing of the instrument is planned on NYSE Arca under the ticker BCFU. The price of the ETF’s shares will mirror the moves of CME Bitcoin futures.

Teucrium filed the application to launch BCFU in May 2021. It complies with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Earlier, SEC chair Gary Gensler said, that for possible approval of such instruments their underlying assets must be CME Bitcoin futures. He also mentioned filing the application under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The registration of BCFU could potentially open the door for a spot Bitcoin ETF. In January, such a scenario was proposed by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.

The 1940 Investment Company Act also applies to Grayscale Investments’ application to register the GBTC trust as a spot Bitcoin ETF. In December 2021, the company admitted that the Commission violated the law in approving the futures-based instrument on Bitcoin.

The final verdict on Grayscale’s filing is due on July 6. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, 95% of interested parties support the launch of the financial instrument.

Earlier, agency analysts forecasted a more positive stance from the regulator by mid-2023.

As a reminder, the Commission has not approved any applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF. Nevertheless, the agency allowed the launch of futures-based Bitcoin ETFs from VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, and ProShares.

In February 2022, Gensler explained the situation as the applications the agency received did not meet the Securities Act standards for preventing fraud or manipulation.

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