ARK Invest and 21Shares Aren’t Backing Down From Bitcoin ETF Bet

The U.S. crypto industry might be on shaky ground with regulatory saber rattling in congress, but Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and investment firm 21Shares are still bullish on a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund—despite being rejected twice previously. 

In a refiling Tuesday, the two again asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF. They had joined forces in an attempt to launch the product, which would give investors indirect exposure to Bitcoin. 

The pair first filed an application with the SEC in June 2021, but the regulator said no the next year. In January, the SEC then rejected another application from May 2022.

“We recognize that given the current regulatory environment in the U.S., the journey to a spot Bitcoin ETF won’t happen overnight, but 21Shares is committed to the U.S. market and advancing a regulated spot crypto product,” the company told Decrypt in an email.

An ETF is a type of investment product tied to commodities, currencies, stocks or bonds. It allows investors to have skin in the game without actually owning a particular asset. A Bitcoin ETF allows investors to invest in a cryptocurrency without having to hold it themselves—rather, they just buy shares that track the asset’s price. 

Although futures Bitcoin ETFs have been a success in the U.S., a spot-based product still doesn’t exist in the country.

A long-list of high-profile companies are awaiting approval on a product directly pegged to the price of the crypto. But the SEC has been slow to approve a true Bitcoin ETF, citing market manipulation in the industry.