VanEck Subsidiary Launches Bitcoin Index Based on US Spot Indices

Investment management firm VanEck subsidiary MV Index Solutions has launched its own Bitcoin (BTC) index based on three major over-the-counter (OTC) desks, according to a press release published Nov. 20.

MV Index Solutions is a firm that develops, monitors and licenses the MVIS Indices, which cover several asset classes, including equity, fixed income markets and digital assets.

The new MVIS Bitcoin U.S. OTC Spot Index (MVBTCO) is based on U.S. price feeds from major OTC liquidity providers, including Circle Trade, Cumberland and Genesis Trading.

Gabor Gurbacs, Director of Digital Asset Strategies at VanEck/MVIS, said that “the index may pave the way for institutionally oriented products, such as ETFs [exchange-traded-funds] as well as provide further tools to institutional investors to execute institutional size trades at transparent prices on the OTC markets.”

Earlier this year, VanEck and financial services company SolidX jointly applied for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF to be listed on Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) BZX Equities Exchange. However, the  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on the ETF is still pending since it was postponed in August.

In October, the SEC published a memorandum from a meeting regarding the BTC ETF proposal from the two companies. In it, the parties comprehensively address the grounds the regulator gave in its 2017 disapproval of SolidX’s previous ETF application: a perceived failure to be consistent with [...] the Securities Exchange Act, which focuses on “prevent[ing]  fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”

Last week, Cointelegraph reported that Switzerland's principal stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange announced it will list the world’s first multi-crypto-based exchange-traded product (ETP). Backed by the Swiss startup Amun AG, the first global multi-crypto ETP will be listed under index HODL and managed by VanEck.