Managers hope ‘proxy’ bitcoin funds will finally win SEC approval

Managers hope ‘proxy’ bitcoin funds will finally win SEC approval

US asset managers are attempting to sidestep the Securities and Exchange Commission's apparent reluctance to approve bitcoin exchange traded funds with applications for products that will provide "proxy“ exposure.

The filings with the SEC come as exchange traded products that track the price of the cryptocurrency are already up and running in Sweden, Switzerland, Jersey, Germany and Canada.

Several applications have already been lodged with the SEC for straightforward bitcoin ETFs. Now two fund managers are hoping their bitcoin-related proposals will be the first to get the go-ahead in the US.

KKM Financial, a Chicago-based "boutique investment solutions firm“, has filed for approval to launch the Valkyrie Innovative Balance Sheet ETF.

This would invest "principally in the securities of operating companies“‰.“‰.“‰. that directly or indirectly invest in, transact in, or otherwise have exposure to bitcoin or operate in the bitcoin ecosystem“.

This could include bitcoin trading platforms, miners, custodians, digital wallet providers and payment facilitation.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase has filed to launch a structured note based on the equity performance of the 11 companies that constitute the JPMorgan Cryptocurrency Exposure Basket.

Just two companies would constitute 38 per cent of the basket; MicroStrategy, a software company that, as of early February, had $3.2bn of bitcoin on its balance