NYDIG files for US-based Bitcoin ETF, with Morgan Stanley on board

New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, has submitted paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.ย 

NYDIG filed a Form S-1 registration statement for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC on Tuesday.ย The submission lists NYDIG Trust Company LLC as the fundโ€™s Bitcoin custodian and Morgan Stanley as an authorized participant.

As an authorized participant, Morgan Stanley is expected to sell shares to the public at prices that reflect the fundโ€™s assets, supply and demand, and underlying market conditions. The shares will trade on the NYSE Arca exchange under a yet-to-be-determined ticker symbol.

According to the prospectus summary:

โ€œThe Trustโ€™s investment objective is to reflect the performance of the price of bitcoin less the expenses of the Trustโ€™s operations. The Trust will not seek to reflect the performance of any benchmark or index.โ€

It continues:

โ€œIn seeking to achieve its investment objective, the Trust will hold bitcoin.โ€

NYDIG has been highly active in the crypto space, as it seeks to provide more institutional exposure to digital assets like Bitcoin. In Nov and Dec 2020, the company raised $150 million through two separate cryptocurrency investment funds. NYDIG was granted a BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2018.

Stone Ridge, NYDIGโ€™s parent company, is one of the largest institutional holders of Bitcoin.

The quest for a Bitcoin ETF has been elusive, at least in the United States, where several fund issuers have tried unsuccessfully to get regulatory approval.

Canada recently approved the first publicly-traded Bitcoin ETF in North America, allowing institutional investors to access BTC investments directly without derivatives.