NYDIG files application for Bitcoin ETF - Bitcoin World

New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), a Bitcoin custodian and asset management firm, has applied to an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to issue NYDIG BITCOIN ETF shares. The U.S. based crypto financial service provider NYDIG has offered a Form S-1 filing for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC. The new trust company will follow NYDIG’s subsidiaries, Asset Management LLC and NYDIG Trust Company LLC, which will serve as sponsors and custodians for the fund. 

Moreover, the submission lists NYDIG Trust Company LLC as the fund’s Bitcoin custodian and Morgan Stanley as an authorized participant. As a qualified participant, Morgan Stanley will sell shares to the public at prices that advocate the fund’s supply and demand, assets, and underlying market conditions. According to the reports, the shares will trade on the NYSE Arca exchange below a yet-to-be-determined ticker symbol.

NYDIG’s engagement in the Crypto Space

NYDIG has been extremely active in the crypto space, as it attempts to offer more institutional exposure to digital assets such as Bitcoin. In November and December 2020, the firm raised $150 million via two separate cryptocurrency investment funds. Moreover, NYDIG was awarded a BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2018. NYDIG’s parent company, Stone Ridge, is one of the most significant institutional holders of Bitcoin.

NYDIG is not the only firm to apply for Bitcoin ETF. VanEck applied for a Bitcoin ETF on December 29, 2020; the SEC’s review is pending from 90 days. The predicted average burden hour per acknowledgment for S-1 form is approximately 27 days. However, the SEC may take up to 150 days to evaluate applications. To date, SEC has not approved any such applications. Wilshire Pheonix, Gemini, Bitwise Investment, and VanEck were all refused approval before the pandemic-induced crash in March 2020. Moreover, Wilshire Phoenix was the newest to accompany the list of rejects in February 2020. Nevertheless, VanEck then revisited its plan with a revamped application and is now joined by NYDIG. 

The search for a Bitcoin ETF has been obscure, at least in the U.S., where various fund issuers have attempted unsuccessfully to get regulatory approval. Recently, Canada approved the first publicly traded Bitcoin ETF in North America. It enabled institutional investors to access Bitcoin investments without derivatives directly. Moreover, today the Canadian regulators have approved the application for a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) filed by Evolve Funds Group.