VanEck files fifth amendment for spot Bitcoin ETF under ‘HODL’

Asset manager VanEck filed a fifth amended application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Dec. 8.

According to the regulator’s database, the amended filing to the S-1 Form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlights updates to the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. A spot Bitcoin ETF is an investment vehicle that lets people buy shares in a fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin.

The VanEck ETF is now expected to be listed under “HODL”, which is either a misspelling of “hold” or an acronym for “hold on for dear life.” Bitcoiners use the phrase to describe a strategy of buying and never selling the digital asset.

I like this play…

Retail who knows crypto space will love the ticker.

Boomers will have no idea what it means, so won’t attract negative attention on advisor statements (plus a lot of advisors preach “HODL” in other asset classes anyways).

Good straddle here.

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) December 8, 2023

VanEck’s ticker symbol for the spot Bitcoin ETF got the attention of analysts on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. Nate Geraci, president of the advisory firm The ETF Store, commented that people familiar with crypto will appreciate the ticker, except Boomers who won’t understand it. He said the ticker would help avoid negative attention on adviser statements a many advisers already advocate “HODL” in different asset classes.

According to Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst, the ticker symbol choice differs from the “more boring Boomer-y choices” other companies like BlackRock and Fidelity go for. He suggested that the ticker symbol choice is a unique approach by VanEck.

VanEck itself also got in on the fun by posting a comment on Dec 8,

“My #Bitcoin ETF will bring all the baby boomers to the yard, *if approved.”

Several companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck, Valkyrie, and Franklin Templeton, are in the race for an approved Bitcoin ETF spot. While the SEC hasn’t indicated its support for the filings, it has engaged in recent discussions with representatives from these firms to address technical details in their fund proposals.

VanEck anticipates SEC approval for a Bitcoin ETF spot in January, estimating $2.4 billion in inflows in Q1.

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