The idea of a Bitcoin ETF has never left the minds of investors, it seems. In 2018, the SEC turned down more than a dozen applications for a Bitcoin ETF product. The SEC even created a special department that will investigate the essence, purpose and future of the entire blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.
2019 has come and so has a new Bitcoin ETF application. This time the application comes from Bitwise Asset Management, a cryptocurrency index fund. On Thursday, January 10th, the fund applied for a Bitcoin-backed ETF with the SEC. The company has already one filing for such almost the same product in the summer of 2018. The major difference is that the recently launched application requires all third-party custodians to keep the physical Bitcoins.
The ETF, if approved, will track the Bitwise Bitcoin Total Return Index, which essentially measures Bitcoin’s price value and the development and value of any hard forks related to the people’s currency. Once the ETF is approved by the SEC, investors will be able to access them through the NYSE Arca.
Bitwise has reportedly spent the past year researching and analyzing the SEC considerations and concerns towards a Bitcoin-backed ETF. The company is hoping that 2019 will see the first Bitcoin ETF on the market, with the regulatory support of the SEC.