The New York Stock Exchange is looking to dive into bitcoin with 2 new ETFs

Thomson Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the NYSE in New York

• The New York Stock Exchange is diving into the digital currency market.
• It asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission permission to list two bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds.

The New York Stock Exchange is looking to dive into the burgeoning cryptocurrency market.

The exchange group asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to list two bitcoin ETFs on its NYSE Arca Market, according to a filing dated December 19.

The so-called ProShares Bitcoin ETF and ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF would provide investors an investment product by which they can bet on bitcoin futures products.

"According to the Registration Statement, the investment objective of the Fund is to seek, results (before fees and expenses) that, both for a single day and over time, correspond to the performance of lead month bitcoin futures contracts listed and traded on either the Cboe Futures Exchange ("CFE") or the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ("CME")," the filing said.

NYSE is not the issuer of the ETF, according to an email from a NYSE spokeswoman. Brown Brothers Harriman, the private bank, would serve as custodian for the funds, according to the filing.

Rival exchanges Cboe and CME both launched bitcoin futures contracts in December, which allow investors to bet on the future price of bitcoin. The red-hot cryptocurrency, which is known for its spine-tingling volatility, has captured the attention of both Main Street and Wall Street.

This appears to be the NYSE's first major foray into the nascent digital coin space. It is, however, an investor in Coinbase, the cryptocurrency trading platform.

Chicago-based Cboe has also asked for the green light from the SEC to list two bitcoin-linked ETF, according to a filing.

ETFs have been viewed as the next step, following futures, in bitcoin's maturation as an asset class.

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