The race is on yet again for crypto ETFs as Valkyrie files registration

Multiple institutions are yet again lining up to offer crypto ETFs, but will the SEC overcome its historical reticence?

In a move that may give seasoned investors flashbacks to 2018, Valkyrie Digital Assets is the latest asset management firm to file a registration with the SEC to form a Bitcoin ETF — a bid that joins a crowded field of prospective fund managers looking to capitalize on renewed retail interest in cryptocurrencies. 

Filed on Friday, the Texas-based family investment fund proposed listing the Valkyrie Bitcoin Trust on the New York Stock Exchange. The application did not include a possible trading ticker.

If history is any indication, however, the filing’s chances of leading to a tradable fund are slim. During the last Bitcoin bull run, multiple firms attempted to throw their hat into the ring as at least nine entities filed proposals for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC, including ETF giants VanEck and Direxion, as well as Gemini, the crypto services firm formed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

In a previous interview with Cointelegraph, Kryptoin CEO Donnie Kim, whose firm filed for an ETF in October of 2019, says that the SEC has long been hesitant to move forward with proposals.

“At this moment in time the commission is listening and learning about this new asset class and they are in a holding pattern, partly to understand the consequences of the existing products on the market and partly to look for further guidance under the current political landscape,” said Kim.

Despite the commission’s historical reticence, as retail interest in cryptocurrency booms fund managers are once again clamoring to be the first to offer an ETF product.

On Thursday, Jan. 21 gold ETF giant VanEck — which was the first company to ever file for a Bitcoin fund — filed to form a Digital Assets ETF, which would track the performance of the Global Digital Assets Equity Index made up of crypto service companies.

While American ETFs have been hard to come by, other exchange-traded products are flourishing. Options for traders include a Swiss Bitcoin ETP, a bevvy of Grayscale products that may be expanding to include Chainlink in the coming months, and an Ethereum ETF in Canada that proved so popular trading had to be halted in its debut.