(Reuters) – Financial services firm Valkyrie Funds LLC announced on Friday that it will cease purchasing ethereum for the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF. Additionally, any positions already acquired will be unwound, presenting a hurdle in its mission to be the first to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to the cryptocurrency ethereum.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Valkyrie stated, “The Fund will not purchase ether futures contracts until the effectiveness of an amendment to the Fund’s registration statement contemplating the addition of ether futures contracts to the principal investment strategy of the Fund. Until such time, the Fund will unwind any existing positions in ether futures contracts.”
The company had announced on Thursday that it had received approval to acquire ethereum futures contracts as part of the conversion of an existing ETF tied solely to Bitcoin into one including ethereum. This ETF would have paved the way for a series of ETFs offering exposure to “ether.”
A spokeswoman for Valkyrie declined to comment but assured that a press release with further details will be issued shortly.
The Securities and Exchange Commission could not be reached immediately for comment. On a separate note, VanEck, ProShares, and Invesco have all filed to list various ETFs tied to ethereum. Traders and media reports anticipate their launch to commence from Monday onwards.
Reporting by Suzanne McGee; Editing by Chris Reese
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
