VanEck publishes Bitcoin ETF ad after BitWise and Hashdex as SEC settles on cash creates

Amid ongoing marketing wars for the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), several filers have published ad commercials meant to put their products in the market. This entirely on hope, or confidence, that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will provide approvals to their applications.

Also Read: Spot Bitcoin ETF filers issue high-quality messaging, marketing wars heat up even before approvals

VanEck enters the arena for marketing wars

Global investment manager VanEck is the latest institutional player in the race for spot BTC ETFs approval to publish an ad commercial for its expected product, while like the rest, is still pending approval. The ad, which headlines as ‘Born to Bitcoin’ urges the intended audience to buy BTC while putting forth a disclaimer about the risks of investing.

With this publication, VanEck joins Bitwise and Hashdex, who released their adds last week. Bitwise has two ads featuring renowned actor Jonathan Goldsmith released on December 18 and 20, while Hashdex told investors that it is a crypto-focused firm on December 20 via an ad.

The ad commercials serve one main purpose, to advertise their prospective products or offerings and capture their respective markets. While this does not confirm any certainty regarding the approval of the applications, it is a show of confidence in a positive outcome. 

SEC chooses cash redemptions over in-kind creates

In a related matter, the US SEC has settled on the ETFs doing cash creates (cash redemptions) as opposed to in-kind creates (crypto redemptions). The resolution comes as the financial regulator doubles down on preventing market manipulation should approvals for the spot BTC ETFs come.

Filers that fail to bend the knee to the cash redemptions request from the SEC may have to wait as abiders potentially go through with the first wave of approvals.

A Bloomberg Intelligence ETF specialist, Eric Balchunas, had alluded to these strictures in a recent post after Valkyrie capitulated. Others that have embraced the demand include BlackRock, ARK Invest, 21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco, and Grayscale, with the move showing that these filers prioritize getting an ETF approved, even if it is in the ideal conditions. Some of them have an open clause in their submissions, reading, “[subject] to in-kind regulatory approval.” This means they maintain hope for in-kind creations down the road.

Elliot Johnson, CIO and COO of Canada’s Evolve ETFs, has also encouraged embracing cash redemptions, adding that they “could change it later” after approvals come in.

Evolve ETFs is an asset management firm that provides Canadian investors with access to innovative investment solutions.

It is worth mentioning that the Canadian spot ETFs have been using the cash create model for years now.

Case difference between cash redemption and in-kind creates

The SEC pushing for cash creates is based on the proposal that broker-dealers cannot deal in Bitcoin, unlike exchanges. However, if the ETFs do cash creates, the broker dealers or institutional players applying for spot BTC ETF approvals would take the initiative to transact in BTC.

Such a turn of events would reduce limitations for everyone by keeping the institutional players from using unregistered subsidiaries or third-party firms to deal with the BTC.