VanEck Joins Bitcoin ETF Ad War With New Teaser Trailer

The battle for the hearts and minds of future Bitcoin ETF customers is already in full swing. 

To be clear, the novel financial product has yet to be approved by the U.S. government. But hopeful financial institutions are already, preemptively, engaging in an ad blitz to stake their claim in the still-hypothetical spot Bitcoin ETF market. 

On Friday, the latest entrant to the televised race, investment management firm VanEck, released a sleek, Bitcoin-centric teaser ad on Twitter. 

Other Bitcoin ETF applicants have, in recent weeks, used Bitcoin ETF-themed spots to make overtures to broader audiences. Earlier this month, Bitwise released an ad starring Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man in the World” Jonathan Goldsmith.

But VanEck chose a much more crypto-native route, stuffing its commercial with numerous, intricate Bitcoin-themed easter eggs. 

The ad, which was reportedly filmed at Bitcoin-themed bar PubKey in Manhattan, includes visual references to Bitcoiners Coffee, Bitcoin Magazine, the viral “Buy Bitcoin” sign that photo-bombed then-Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s 2017 congressional testimony, and the Bitcoin-backed British soccer club, Real Bedford.

While the ad does not make any explicit reference to a spot Bitcoin ETF, its purpose is all-but unmistakable, given the timing. 

In just over a week, analysts predict, the Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to approve the first-ever Bitcoin ETF, after years of straight denials. In the final days of the year, applicants have raced to tweak their applications to accommodate last-minute requests by the SEC. 

Spot Bitcoin ETFs would allow traditional financial institutions and investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without holding any cryptocurrency. Analysts have predicted the financial product could boost crypto markets by as much as $1 trillion.