WisdomTree Adds Bitcoin Futures Exposure to Fund, Refiles for Spot ETF

WisdomTree, an plus manager with implicit $76 cardinal successful assets nether management, announced Thursday that it had added bitcoin futures vulnerability to its commodities-focused Managed Futures Strategy exchange-traded money (ETF). The determination comes a period aft the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected WisdomTree’s exertion for a spot bitcoin ETF, though the institution has since refiled.

Last fall, WisdomTree indicated plans to adhd up to a 5% bitcoin futures vulnerability to the Managed Futures Strategy Fund, which was launched successful 2011 and has astir $164 cardinal successful assets. The institution has present added an approximate 1.3% allocation to bitcoin futures contracts. The money has nary plans to put successful bitcoin directly.

WisdomTree isn’t caller to giving bitcoin futures vulnerability to its fund, having added a 3% allocation to its Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (GCC) successful October.

“Our presumption was that bitcoin is serving a relation akin to golden and wherefore radical bargain golden successful commodities strategies,” said Jeremy Schwartz, Global Chief Investment Officer of WisdomTree, successful an interrogation with CoinDesk.

WisdomTree is embracing a agelong concern strategy with bitcoin futures. “Right now, we are not going abbreviated connected bitcoin futures. We deliberation determination is much hazard [in shorting] fixed the volatility,” said Schwartz.

The SEC has created a way for bitcoin futures funds to spell public. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF began trading successful October and VanEck debuted a money the pursuing month.

Spot bitcoin ETFs, however, person faced overmuch stronger regulatory resistance. WisdomTree and VanEck person some had their applications denied, and the SEC this week delayed a determination connected NYDIG’s spot ETF filing. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has indicated a fig of times that helium prefers a bitcoin futures ETF implicit a money with nonstop bitcoin exposure.

“We’ve said that for a 100% bitcoin fund, we similar the spot. We person not filed for a 100% futures [fund]. For a 3% to 5% position, we deliberation that futures are a tenable entree tool. But for a 100% position, we deliberation that you privation the spot,” said Schwartz. “We’re making our filings arsenic beardown and compelling arsenic possible, and you’ve got to get implicit the antithetic issues from the SEC.”