The first Bitcoin futures ETF will start Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, marking a new stage in the evolution of cryptocurrency as an investment asset.
On Tuesday morning, ProShares plans to launch the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BICO), which will invest primarily in Bitcoin futures contracts, not in actual Bitcoin. In July, an affiliate company, ProFunds, launched the first Bitcoin-linked mutual fund in the U.S.
The new ETF will provide exposure to Bitcoin to investors with brokerage accounts who don't "want to go through the hassle and learning curve of establishing another account with a cryptocurrency provider and creating a Bitcoin wallet or are concerned that these providers may be unregulated and subject to security risks," said ProShares CEO Michael Sapir in a statement.
He added that "2021 will be remembered for the first cryptocurrency-linked ETF," much like the "1993 is remembered for the first equity ETF, 2002 for the first bond ETF and 2004 for the first gold ETF."
