By Nathan Ferguson
The Bitcoin Miners ETF (exchange-traded fund) – which was created by Valkaryrie – has received approval from Nasdaq (the prominent US-based stock market) with WGMI as its ticker symbol. As per a filing of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) of the United States, Nasdaq approved the Valkyrie-based Bitcoin Miners ETF for being traded over the exchange. Just a few weeks before the respective development, an application was filed by Valkyrie under the SEC to get its fund listed.
It was noted in the firm’s filing that a minimum of 80% out of the Bitcoin Miners ETF would be invested in the net assets thereof under the firms that generate 50% of the profit or revenue thereof from BTC mining activities at a minimum and/or from offering specialized software, hardware, chips, or the rest of the services to the platforms involved in mining Bitcoin.
Apart from that, it was noted by Valkyrie that the focus thereof would be on crypto mining companies that utilize green as well as renewable power for their operations of mining.
The Bitcoin Miners ETF has been scheduled to start trading on Nasdaq from 8th February onwards. Though Valkyrie is prepared to commence its initial trading of the Bitcoin Miners ETF, it does not count as the earliest fund by the firm to get approved. Previously in October, the Bitcoin Futures ETF of the company turned into the second product of its kind across the US following ProShares to be certified by the SEC. The Bitcoin Futures ETF also got listed by Nasdaq.
In the meantime, the US Securities Department appears to be reluctant in declaring approval for a spot ETF of Bitcoin. In January, a proposal filed by SkyBridge was discarded by the SEC, mentioning that the platform did not fulfill the specified requirements. Krypton and Valkyrie are the other applicants to have received disapproval.
By keeping all this in view, it becomes quite clear that the US watchdog has a track record of being unfavorable for spot ETFs. The prominent cause behind this reluctance is expressed to be the concerns related to terror financing, money laundering, as well as market manipulation.
Formerly at the end of the previous year, a significant change was witnessed as the SEC started approving the long-delayed futures ETFs. Nevertheless, the case of spot ETFs is quite different, and recently the SEC’s decision over the filing of Grayscale to transform its GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust) into a spot BTC ETF has also been delayed.