Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest can be added to the list of organizations intending to launch a bitcoin-backed exchange-traded fund in the future. According to a regulatory filing made on Monday, Wood’s has filed to create the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, with the number 21 possibly referring to Satoshi Nakamoto’s stated goal of producing 21 million bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.44 percent for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.
Wood’s prospectus is one of a rising number of ETF providers and fund managers attempting to bring crypto to the mainstream via an ETF wrapper. ARK Invest’s representative claimed the company couldn’t comment on its plans. Bitcoin’s price, which is currently around $34,000, down about 50% from its mid-April peak, could reach $500,000 if all institutions assigned a mid-single-digit allocation to the virtual asset and put it on their balance sheets, according to ARK Investment Management CEO and prominent promoter of disruptive technologies. Following a sell-off in large-cap tech stocks in the spring, ARK Invest’s actively managed ETFs have been on the mend. According to Barron’s, her fund has gained an average of 22% since May 13, with the flagship ARK Innovation ARKK, +3.78 percent leading the pack with a gain of around 30%. The creation of a bitcoin ETF has long been regarded as the holy grail of the cryptocurrency sector, but it appears increasingly unlikely to happen this year under Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s newly appointed commissioner. A bitcoin ETF is thought to provide easier access to typical investors looking for direct crypto exposure. Wood’s plans to create a bitcoin ETF might pit her against Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC, +5.67 percent, a closed-end fund that holds bitcoin and is one of the largest cryptocurrency funds. Grayscale Trust was also rumored to be considering converting to an ETF from its current structure. It has not, however, submitted an application to do so. Ark Invest has recently made a significant investment in GBTC.
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