By Suzanne McGee (Reuters) - Financial services firm Valkyrie Funds LLC said on Friday it will halt buying of ethereum for the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF and unwind any positions already
On September 29th, financial services firm Valkyrie Funds LLC announced that it will temporarily stop purchasing Ethereum for the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF.O) and will also unwind any previously acquired positions. This decision has become a hurdle in their quest to become the first to introduce an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to the cryptocurrency Ethereum.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Valkyrie stated, “The Fund will refrain from buying Ethereum futures contracts until an amendment to the Fund’s registration statement, considering the inclusion of Ethereum futures contracts as the primary investment strategy, becomes effective. During this period, the Fund will also divest any existing positions in Ethereum futures contracts.”
Valkyrie had announced on the previous day that they had received approval to acquire Ethereum futures contracts as part of the conversion of an existing ETF that was previously tied exclusively to Bitcoin. This conversion would have marked the beginning of a series of ETFs offering exposure to Ethereum.
In an official statement, Valkyrie expressed their anticipation that the ETF’s conversion would take effect “no later than October 3, 2023, or when the SEC expedites the registration statement’s effectiveness.”
As of now, there has been no immediate response from the SEC.
Separately, VanEck, ProShares, and Invesco have all submitted filings to list a variety of ETFs linked to Ethereum. Traders and media reports are expecting these ETFs to launch starting on Monday.
