Asset Manager Stone Ridge Files SEC Prospectus for Bitcoin Futures Fund

Another bitcoin futures product is booting up, according to a Stone Ridge Asset Management filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company filed a prospectus for a cash-settled bitcoin futures fund – dubbed the NYDIG Bitcoin Strategy Fund – with the regulator on Wednesday.

Based in New York City, Stone Ridge has some $15 billion in assets under management, serving clientele in both the United States and China. Founded in 2012, the firm offers portfolio management and advisory services.

One hundred thousand futures shares will be offered at $10 each, and have no minimum purchases. They will be limited to eligible investors as determined by Stone Ridge, the filing states.

The fund will not invest in bitcoin or other digital assets directly, but uses bitcoin as the underlying reference asset. To support the fund, Stone Ridge will purchase bitcoin futures to match the fund's total value one-to-one along with large amounts of cash, government securities, and business securities to maintain liquidity, provide collateral as well as leverage.

The prospectus urges caution while calling bitcoin a speculative asset:

“Bitcoin was developed within the last decade and, as a result, there is little data on its long-term investment potential.”

As a prospectus, the details outlined by Stone Ridge are liable to change.

Bitcoin-based financial products continue to hit the market, with physically-settled bitcoin futures platform Bakkt launched last week. While settling just over $5 million in its first week, the launch signaled the end of a regulatory gauntlet spanning more than a year.

Stone Ridge did not return questions for comment by press time.

Futures image via Shutterstock