Swiss-based fintech company 21Shares confimed a Bloomberg report that it has partnered with Cathie Wood-founded ARK Investment Management to refile for a spot-Bitcoin exchange-trade fund (ETF).
Despite two previous filing rejections, 21Shares told CryptoSlate:
“It may be a protracted effort but we believe persistence will eventually pay off and the winners will be American investors.”
The partnership is filing for the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF — set to trade under the ticker ARKB, according to Bloomberg’s report. The Bitcoin ETF would track Bitcoin’s price as measured by the S&P Bitcoin Index.
Three strikes, and you’re out!
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has previously rejected two filings for the 21Shares and ARK spot-Bitcoin ETF.
21Shares first filed for the Bitcoin ETF in 2021 and, most recently, in May 2022.
When approached for comment by CryptoSlate, 21Shares said:
“Although filings for this fund have twice been rejected by the SEC, 21Shares strongly believes that US investors should have access to safe, regulated investment products that provide exposure to core crypto assets as do investors in Canada, Switzerland, the European Union and other jurisdictions.”
The SEC has not approved a single spot Bitcoin ETF but has approved Bitcoin futures ETFs since October 2021.
“We remain committed to increasing access to the crypto asset class by entering markets that promote responsible, clear, and reasonable regulation – this is the same approach we have taken since 2018 in Europe and other markets.”
Cathie Wood and 21Shares
The Founder and CEO of ARK Invest, Cathie Wood, recently said that she believed the Bitcoin and Ethereum price rebound resulted from the networks’ auditable, transparent, and decentralized nature.
Wood said that banks contrast this nature and “have become less so” as regulators poised investors to focus on the “threat crypto poses to users.”
Meanwhile, 21Shares launched an exchange-traded product (ETP) offering exposure to the Bitcoin layer2 network, Stacks (STX).
The director of ETP product at 21Shares, Arthur Krause, said the new Stacks ETP provides investors with “a unique opportunity[…] as there are currently no other investment products providing exposure to Stacks on the market.”
