VanEck Files to Launch Digital Asset Mining ETF

Investment firm VanEck has filed with the SEC to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on digital asset mining companies.

• The fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities of digital asset mining firms that generate or have the potential to earn at least 50% of their revenues from mining activities or related technologies.
• The ETF’s holdings may include small- and medium-capitalization companies and foreign and emerging market issuers. It may also invest in depositary receipts and securities denominated in foreign currencies.
• The ETF won’t invest directly in digital assets, nor in initial coin offerings.
• The filing didn’t provide details of the planned ETF’s ticker, listing date or related fees.
• Other ETFs that are listed in the U.S. and have heavy exposure to crypto miners include Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (RIGZ), which is up 45% since its inception in July, and Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ), which has climbed 26% since launching earlier this year.
• VanEck launched a bitcoin futures ETF in mid-November, the third such fund to debut since U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler expressed his preference for bitcoin ETFs that invested in futures rather than directly in bitcoin itself. Its proposal for a spot bitcoin ETF was rejected by the SEC.