Volt Equity Applies for an ETF With MicroStrategy Exposure

An upstart exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an ETF that could invest "up to 25% of the fund's assets" in the bitcoin-holding company MicroStrategy.

San Francisco-based Volt Equity applied for the ETF Monday under its Volt ETF Trust and shares of it would trade on NYSE Arca. The ETF would give investors exposure to bitcoin companies or companies that have invested in bitcoin both in the U.S. and abroad. The fund would compete with similar funds filed by Bitwise and Valkyrie.

At least 80% of the assets in the fund will go toward investing directly in those companies or in options or ETFs related to those companies. The fund may also invest up to 20% broadly in the equities market to offset risk in the portfolio.

Many crypto market participants expect new SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, a former MIT professor who taught classes about bitcoin, to approve a bitcoin ETF later this year or early next. To date, the agency has rejected all bitcoin ETF applications, but it hasn't made a decision on any recent filing. Toward the end of May, the SEC delayed a decision on the WisdomTree's bitcoin ETF after it had delayed a decision on VanEck’s bitcoin ETF application in April.

CORRECTION (June 7, 22:47 UTC): An earlier version of this article incorrectly claimed that Volt Equity offered an ETF with a 10% exposure to the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). That ETF was offered by Simplify Asset Management.