New York-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider, Global X, has joined the ever-growing list of bitcoin ETF prospects with a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Global X has $35 billion of assets under management and is a subsidiary of the $560 billion investment manager Mirae Asset.
If approved, the Global X Bitcoin Trust will issue common shares for trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange under a ticker symbol to be announced right before it starts trading. The ETF will hold bitcoin to achieve its investment objective of being a proxy for the BTC price in dollars, minus operating expenses.
According to the filing, Global X Digital Assets, which is affiliated with both Global X Management Company and Mirae Asset Global Investments, will be the sponsor of the offering –– responsible for creating, registering, and listing the ETF and its shares. However, the document did not specify which companies will be the trustee and the bitcoin custodian for the trust.
Like Grayscale’s recently announced strategy for their bitcoin product, GBTC, the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) would also aid Global X in administering its ETF. BNY will provide Global X with accounting, tax, and financial reporting for the maintenance and operations of the trust.
Besides Global X and Grayscale, several other investment managers have also filed for a bitcoin ETF in the U.S. lately, heating up the race. This year alone, Valkyrie, NYDIG, VanEck, SkyBridge Capital, and Fidelity have all filed for their own bitcoin ETF offerings. But even though the SEC has delayed every single one of them, the outlook has arguably been improving.
A recent report has pointed out why the regulating agency might capitulate soon, citing the distinct huge onramp of institutional bitcoin adoption this year. And at the beginning of July, former Commodities and Futures Trade Commission chair Timothy Massad explained how a bitcoin ETF could benefit investors and regulators alike.
An ETF offering for a product cuts down intrinsic hardships in investing in the asset directly by abstracting it away through a convenient investment vehicle in an established stock exchange. Naturally, however, investing in an ETF does not mean the investor possesses the underlying asset –– whichever one it might be. And in the case of Bitcoin, that distinction is perhaps more important, as self-custody is essential for true individual sovereignty.