VanEck could launch a BITO ETF rival as soon as Monday

VanEck is set to take on the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA:BITO) as early as next Monday with its own Bitcoin-futures ETF. The firm wrote in a U.S. Securities Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that its new VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BATS:XBTF) will be available “as soon as practicable" after this coming Saturday, Oct. 23. That presumably would mean next Monday, Oct. 25. XBTF will be similar in many ways to the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which launched Tuesday to great fanfare. Like BITO, the VanEck ETF will offer investors a way to gain exposure to Bitcoin (BTC-USD) through the futures market. According to the new fund's prospectus, the actively managed ETF plans to achieve its investment objective by investing in standardized, cash-settled Bitcoin-futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. However, XBTF will not invest in Bitcoin or other digital assets directly, as that is not deemed legal by regulators.