Cathie Wood’s Ark Files for Bitcoin ETF as Wait for SEC Goes On

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management filed to list a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, the latest company to throw its hat into the crypto fund ring.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, trading under ARKB, would track the performance of the world’s largest cryptocurrency as measured by the S&P Bitcoin Index. The exchange-traded fund would hold Bitcoin, providing direct exposure to the digital asset, according to a filing.

“This makes a lot of sense because Cathie is on the board of 21Shares, which is a big progressive crypto issuer in Europe,” said Eric Balchunas, ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. “This gives 21Shares penetration in the U.S. and it’s on-brand for Ark given how vocal and bullish they’ve been on crypto.”

An Ark spokesperson said the firm was not able to comment on the filing.

Regulatory Waiting Room

Regulators have punted on whether to approve a Bitcoin ETF, frustrating many crypto fans who have longed for such a product.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said in mid-June that it was seeking more public comment on a proposal to list a product on Cboe Global Markets Inc. And that was not its first such move this year.

There were predictions that the regulator would be more receptive under SEC Chair Gary Gensler, who once taught classes on digital assets at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.