Famed stock picker Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has partnered with 21Shares to file a Bitcoin futures ETF with the SEC under the white label provider Alpha Architect. This comes at a time when the first bitcoin futures ETF filing is due for review by the Commission next week.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF (ARKA) has been filed to list on the Cboe Exchange, according to the prospectus filed, and is an actively managed fund that seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in cash-settled, exchange traded bitcoin futures contracts settled in U.S. dollars. ARKA will not invest directly in bitcoin or any other digital assets.
Per the filing, ARK will not partake in investment decisions or give investment advice for the fund, but will provide 21Shares with marketing support.
This is not the first time that ARK has partnered up with 21Shares, the first company to bring a crypto ETP to market globally in 2018 with HODL, which trades on the SIX Swiss Exchange, per 21Shares’ website. In June, the two had submitted a filing for a physically backed bitcoin ETF. 21Shares will be the fund’s sub-advisor.
Alpha Architect is the fund’s investment advisor and originally began as a consulting firm but has since become a research-intensive boutique asset management firm that seeks to “power investors through education.” They offer ETF white-label services and are a service-disabled and minority-owned firm.
Next Monday, the 75-day period ends for the ProShares bitcoin futures ETF proposal. SEC Chair Gary Gensler recently indicated that such a filing would be looked on favorably and given careful consideration by the SEC. This filing review is followed very shortly by proposal deadlines from Valkyrie, Invesco, and VanEck, and anticipation is high as to how the Commission rules on these, if they would approve all together or kick the review period a little further down the road.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas has tweeted recently as to what kinds of signifiers he looks for that would indicate an SEC approval is on the horizon in response to Valkyrie updating their prospectus to add a ticker. “…it is these type of updated prospectus filings. That’s what happens right [before] a launch, they fill in all the XXs and add ticker.”
The ARK and 21Shares bitcoin futures ETF was filed with a ticker (ARKA) already, which is “yet another good sign SEC gonna approve,” Balchunas tweeted.
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