VanEck Launches ETF Offering Exposure To Bitcoin-Focused Companies

The Digital Transformation ETF launched by VanEck provides investors with exposure to the likes of MicroStrategy, Square, Riot Blockchain and more.

VanEck, an assets management company with roots in the cryptocurrency space, has long desired to offer a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the public market. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has, however, not approved its filing to do so (or any other such filings, for that matter).

But in the meantime, VanEck has launched a new ETF that allows eager investors access to the Bitcoin market, albeit in a less direct way.

The new ETF, called the Digital Transformation ETF, is designed to provide investors with exposure to companies that have invested in or provide services for “the digital transformation of the world’s economy.” For many of the fund’s primary holdings, this means companies that are all-in on bitcoin.

The Digital Transformation ETF offers exposure to the likes of MicroStrategy, Riot Blockchain, Square and others that have directly allocated their treasury assets to bitcoin or directly contribute to the Bitcoin ecosystem in some way.

Would-be investors should note the clever distinction between direct bitcoin exposure and this product. They are not investing in cryptocurrency, either directly or indirectly, through derivatives. Instead, they are investing in relevant digital asset companies that participate in the cryptocurrency space.

To be eligible for inclusion and tracking in the ETF, a company must generate half of its revenues from digital assets projects, generate at least half of its revenues from projects that have the potential to generate half of their revenues from digital assets or digital assets projects or have at least half of its assets invested directly in digital assets or digital assets projects.