VanEck files for new ETF

VanEck filed for a “Digital Asset ETF” on January 21st. Unlike their previous ETF filings, the new ETF they have proposed will track the digital asset industry rather than a single digital currency or a basket of digital currencies.

“VanEck Vectors® Digital Assets ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to track as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS® Global Digital Assets Equity Index (the “Index”),” says the official filing. The MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index is made up of companies in the digital currency industry rather than digital assets themselves. The Index includes businesses that operate digital currency exchanges, payment gateways, mining companies, as well as enterprises that hold significant amounts of digital currency in their treasuries, such as MicroStrategy.

According to the filing, 

to be initially eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must generate at least 50% of its revenues from (i) digital assets projects or (ii) projects that, when developed, have the potential to generate at least 50% of their revenues from the digital assets industry. Companies with less than 50% of their revenues from the global digital assets segment, including semiconductor and online money transfer companies, may be added to the Index to reach a minimum component number.

Will it get the green light?

VanEck has tried to file several BTC ETFs in the past but none have been approved. Several other companies have tried to do the same, but none have been successful. Recently, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss expressed interest in trying their hand at a digital currency ETF, but they have not followed up on that statement since it was released. However, this time around, the ETF filers have momentum on their side. Recently, the digital currency markets have become extremely popular, even among financial institutions and experts; that popularity may be enough to give the digital asset ETF the push it needs to get approved.