Investment firm VanEck’s Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (XBTF) closed Tuesday 1.94% down in price to US$59.73 for its initial day of trading on the Chicago-based CBOE global exchange, according to MarketWatch’s data.
Fast facts
- On Nov. 15, VanEck announced the launch of XBTF as the “lowest-cost Bitcoin-linked ETF” compared to its competitive rivals. The company said it is a cash-settled fund, meaning it is settled in cash instead of actual Bitcoin.
- “While a ‘physically backed’ Bitcoin ETF remains a key goal, we are very pleased to be providing investors with this important tool as they build their digital asset portfolios,” Kyle DaCruz, VanEck’s director of digital assets, said in the statement. The trading went live after getting U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval in late October.
- In a trading comparison at the close of Tuesday, MarketWatch’s data showed spot Bitcoin was down more than 5%, in line with a 6.53% drop of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) and a 6.63% drop of Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF).
- Multiple Bitcoin futures ETFs have waited in line to get the green light for trading, after SEC chairman Gary Gensler said in August that the agency will consider approving ETFs linked to Bitcoin futures contracts.
- ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, a Bitcoin futures ETF, began trading on the NYSE in late October, helping to bring Bitcoin’s price to a then-all-time record high above US$67,000 the next day.