Simeon Hyman, CEO of ProShares, stated in the same interview that regulated futures trading in a 40-act ETF would open up the possibility to gain BTC exposure for many people who have been waiting.
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In a CNBC news segment, Gary Gensler, Chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Simeon Hyman CEO at ProShares discussed the launch the first Bitcoin-linked exchange traded fund (ETF).
The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (also known as BITO) is based upon CME Bitcoin futures contracts. Bob Pisani, a CNBC commentator, expressed concerns that BTC futures prices could differ from the spot price.
Hyman stated that the futures market was a better place to price discover. The CME futures market trades in more volume than any U.S. crypto exchange. On 7/28, we launched a similar mutual funds. Since Friday’s launch, the Bitcoin Reference rate has risen 52%, our BTC mutual funds have risen 52%, and the BTC Greyscale Trust has risen 37%.
BITO’s debut follows announcements by other BTC-linked funds such as Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF to trade on the Nasdaq. A new blockchain-industry-based fund, called the Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF, intends to begin trading soon as well.
Gensler was asked by Pisani about his previous comments, in which he stated that he didn’t have the same concerns when issuing BTC futures-linked funds as a fully-linked BTC Fund. Gensler confirmed:
“What we’re trying to do is bring in new projects within the investor-protected perimeter. The SEC’s sister agency the Commodities Futures Trading Commission has been monitoring BTC futures for the past four year. This is something that has been monitored for four years by a federal regulator. It’s also been subject to the SEC’s supervision through the Investment Company Act of 40.
Hyman expressed confidence in the fund, pointing out the history of BTC’s price movement, U.S. securities laws and the possibility for an investment opportunity:
“There is a lot of history in this place. It will trade well, according to us. We believe that regulated futures trading in a 40-act ETF would open up the possibility to gain BTC exposure for many people who have been sitting on the sidelines.
