Ben Strack

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 <li>VanEck proposed an ETF in December that would invest in futures contracts and investment offerings linked to gold or bitcoin</li>
 <li>Investors who buy bitcoin and those who buy gold are “very different,” ETF.com crypto editor says</li>
 </ul>
 
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VanEck is laying the groundwork for an ETF that would invest in companies mining both digital assets and gold.



The VanEck Gold and Digital Assets Mining ETF would invest primarily in the securities within an index tracking the performance of gold mining and digital assets mining businesses, according to a recent <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1137360/000113736022000218/vegoldanddigitalassets485a.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">regulatory disclosure</a>.



It would not invest in digital assets directly or via derivatives. The filing did not indicate a ticker or expense ratio.



A VanEck spokesperson declined to comment.



“I think VanEck is just trying different things and seeing what sticks,” said Sumit Roy, crypto editor and analyst at ETF.com. “It&#8217;s the equivalent of sticking bitcoin and gold into an ETF — a strategy that we&#8217;ve already seen employed and some people like.”



WisdomTree’s Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (GCC), for example, which invests in gold, expanded its strategy to include bitcoin futures in October.



“While I don&#8217;t want to count this ETF out, I don&#8217;t think it will see as much traction as more focused ETFs,” Roy said. “The investors who buy bitcoin and those who buy gold are very different.”



The plans follow VanEck proposing a <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1137360/000113736021001182/vvtgoldandbitcoinstrategye.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">gold and bitcoin strategy ETF</a> in December. The fund would invest in futures contracts, exchange-traded products (ETPs) and other investments linked to gold or bitcoin.



“Gold bugs and the bitcoin maxis tend to go at each other’s throats,” Nathan Geraci, president of The ETF Store, said at the time. “Who are you marketing to here?”



VanEck’s largest US ETF is its gold miners fund (GDX). Launched in 2006, the fund has about $14.5 billion of assets. Overall, VanEck manages about $63 billion of assets across more than 60 US ETFs.



VanEck launched its Digital Transformation ETF (DAPP), which holds crypto exchanges, miners and other digital asset-related stocks, last April.



The firm also <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vanecks-bitcoin-futures-etf-set-to-launch-tuesday/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">brought to market</a> its Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF), which invests in cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts.



An additional crypto-related product, <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/vaneck-seeks-to-launch-digital-asset-mining-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the VanEck Digital Assets Mining ETF</a>, is expected to launch Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the matter.



The Securities and Exchange Commission <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/sec-rejects-vanecks-proposed-spot-bitcoin-etf/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in November rejected</a> a proposed VanEck ETF that would have bought bitcoin directly. The regulator has not yet approved such a fund despite industry participants pushing for one for years.



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