Ark Invest, an asset management firm founded by crypto enthusiast Cathie Wood, has doubled down its efforts on cryptocurrency strategy. In that context, the asset management firm has started by officially lending its name to an ETF tracking Bitcoin futures.
Ark Invest confirmed its ready plans to bring the flagship crypto to the masses, offering Bitcoin futures ETF and invest heavily in cryptocurrency products.
Bitcoin futures relatively differ from the Bitcoin native token itself. In this case, any individual holding future contracts whatsoever does not hold the real cryptocurrency but rather rights to the pact between parties purchasing an asset in the future at a price determined in the present.
Ark Invest Wants US-Regulated Bitcoin ETF
Based on reports published on Bloomberg, Ark Invest now joins the race of institutions applying for a regulated cryptocurrency ETF. The asset management firm has already filed for the ARK21 Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF under ticker ARKA.
Upon approval, the firm aims to invest its funds heavily in Bitcoin futures rather than the cryptocurrency itself. In that case, its application will attract fast approval as SEC chair Gary Gensler had issued assurance on the matter in his recent sentiments.
Notably, the futures markets are slightly more volatile but advantaged since participants do not necessarily have to safeguard their assets. Moreover, futures ETFs have financial and regulatory advantages since there is more regulatory clarity, with every futures contract operating under CFTC jurisdictions.
Data acquired its latest filing confirmed that Ark Invest will entirely invest in Bitcoin futures ETFs that are adequately regulated by the United States:
“The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in exchange-traded Bitcoin futures contracts that are cash-settled in U.S. dollars and are traded on, or subject to the rules of, commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “CME”) (“Bitcoin Futures”). The Fund does not invest directly in Bitcoin or other digital assets.”
Ark Invest’s move is a milestone for the American market, considering that the asset management firm is shifting its focus to the crypto-friendly Canadian market.
Ark Invest Accelerates Its Crypto Strategy
According to information provided by the SEC, Ark Invest has another pending application for the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). Upon approval, Ark Invest will invest those funds heavily in both the Canadian Crypto ETFs and Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC).
However, the latter is not an actual ETF itself but is a U.S.-regulated product that allows indirect exposure to the price of Bitcoin by purchasing shares of a trust that holds large amounts of BTC (approximately 3% of all the coins currently in circulation).
“Cryptocurrency is an emerging asset class. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, the most well-known of which is bitcoin. The fund may have exposure to bitcoin indirectly through an investment in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (“GBTC”), a privately offered, open-end investment vehicle that invests in bitcoin, or other pooled investment vehicles that invest in bitcoin, such as exchange-traded funds that are domiciled and listed for trading in Canada (“Canadian Bitcoin ETFs”).”
Furthermore, the funds also offer exposure to companies with significant investments in Bitcoin or otherwise involved in the crypto industry. Among the perfect examples includes Coinbase, the first regulated public crypto exchange in the United States; Tesla, a company owned by crypto enthusiast Elon Musk, with 42,000 Bitcoin in its possession; and Square, the crypto-friendly payment processor founded by Bitcoin maximalist and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, which holds more than 8,000 BTC.
