ARK Investments partners with 21Shares to market a newly proposed bitcoin ETF
ARK Investments has joined the line of firms waiting for the approval of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The firm is assisting 21Shares with a new offering: the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
21Shares is the sponsor of the trust while ARK will assist in marketing the ETF shares, according to the newly filed S-1.
The aim is to offer direct exposure to bitcoin through shares valued daily based on the S&P Bitcoin Index, the tool developed by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index relies on data from Binance, Bitfinex, Bitflyer, Bittrex, Bitstamp, Coinbase Pro, Gemini, HitBTC, Huobi, Kraken, KuCoin and Poloniex to arrive at a unified price based on "a combination of qualitative and quantitative metrics," according to the S-1.
Like other offerings before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF is looking to trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Cboe has filed multiple 19b-4s — the filing an exchange submits to list the shares of an ETF-hopeful's new fund — to launch other similar funds like VanEck and WisdomTree among others.
Coinbase is slated to custody the bitcoin for the newly proposed ETF, while Bank of New York Mellon will serve as administrator and transfer agent.
Recently, bitcoin ETF applications have seen a wave of extensions as the SEC seeks more time to examine the proposals before it. The clock will start on a decision for the ARK 21Shares offering when Cboe files the companion 19b-4 and it hits the public register.
