After scrapping plans for a bitcoin ETF, VanEck is still asserting itself in the cryptocurrency space. The company’s VanEck’s MV Index Solution unit could launch 12 indexes tracking individual digital currencies and four benchmarks offering broader exposure to cryptocurrencies.
VanEck is partnering with CryptoCompare on the indexes.
“VanEck’s MV Index Solutions unit is partnering with CryptoCompare, a London-based digital asset data provider, to offer 12 single digital asset indexes, including for bitcoin and ether, and four indexes tracking baskets of five to 100 cryptocurrencies,” reports Bloomberg.
In late September, VanEck withdrew plans for a futures-based bitcoin ETF because, at the time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it would not approve a fund based on a product that does not exist. However, bitcoin futures could make their debut before the end of 2017.
Last week, bitcoin surged to another record after CME Group Inc., the world’s largest exchange owner, said it plans to launch bitcoin futures before the end of this year. CME’s launch of bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of 2017 will be pending all relevant regulatory review periods.
Related: Bitcoin Futures Could Damp Volatility
CME rival Cboe Global Makets Inc. is also in the race to launch bitcoin futures.
“Cboe announced in August that it wanted to offer the contracts, which would use Gemini bitcoin market data, by the end of this year or early next year. Each company needs approval from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” reports Bloomberg.
Some industry observers believe the debut of bitcoin futures will speed approval of a bitcoin ETF.
VanEck’s digital currency “indexes incorporate trade data from about 50 cryptocurrency exchanges around the world, with prices weighted by volume. The indexes are live and some have historic data going back to 2014,” according to Bloomberg.
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