Bitcoin is hot, and we may soon see a Bitcoin futures-based ETF. The VanEck Vectors Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF (COIN) are vying for SEC approval.
The race is on: who will be the first to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States?
In Europe, there is already a Bitcoin exchange traded note (ETN) available to investors. In the U.S., it is widely anticipated a Bitcoin ETF will be be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) very soon.
In Europe, ETNs are designed to track the movement of Bitcoin against the U.S. dollar. The ETNs are Bitcoin Tracker One, which is traded in Swedish krona and Bitcoin Tracker EURO, which is traded in euro. Both ETNs are issued by XBT Provider AB and traded on Nasdaq OMX (Stockholm).
Dave Nadig, CEO of ETF.com and previously the director of ETFs at FactSet Research Systemsm believes we can expect to see Bitcoin Futures-based ETF launched in the U.S. by the end of this year.
"Yes, you can already trade a derivative in Europe, an exchange traded note which tracks Bitcoin," Nadig adds. "Then the race in the U.S. is the race to see what gets approval first. Will it be a Bitcoin future or a straight up Bitcoin holding ETF? My bet is that we will see Bitcoin futures approved fairly quickly."
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14315353/1/bitcoin-futures-based-etf-likely-to-be-approved-first.html