ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF ‘BITO’ Rises in Debut
The long-awaited investment vehicle opened trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Oct 19, 2021 at 6:08 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/LRVGPBY3WJDFLJ3OPZJ3SP5DJM.jpg)
Shares of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, the first bitcoin futures-related ETF to trade in the U.S., initially rose 3% when trading began and were lately up 1.6% to $40.63 in their debut on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
- The fund trades under the symbol BITO and is linked to bitcoin futures that are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlit the bitcoin futures ETF on Friday.
- ProShares filed its application for its Bitcoin Strategy ETF this past summer after SEC Chair Gary Gensler made clear his preference for a bitcoin fund linked to the futures market rather than directly to bitcoin itself. Other bitcoin futures ETFs are expected to be approved and begin trading soon.
- Anticipation of the ProShares fund being approved has driven up the price of bitcoin, with prices climbing above $60,000 for the first time in nearly six months last week. On Tuesday, the price of bitcoin was roughly flat over the past 24 hours at $61,862.
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/97f8c8cb-1c52-468c-88f4-8822b84a4203.png)
Nelson Wang was CoinDesk's news editor for the East Coast. He holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.
Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.