VanEck Launches Bitcoin Index Based on OTC Platforms Pricing

Published on Unknown Date by Cryptovest Staff

A subsidiary of New-York-based investment fund VanEck has created the first Bitcoin index backed by pricing data from OTC trading platforms for digital assets.

US investment fund VanEck, which is still waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pronounce on its application for a Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund), has developed a new crypto-related financial instrument. Called MVIS Bitcoin US OTC Spot Index (MVBTCO), it tracks Bitcoin performance based on spot prices from three over-the-counter (OTC) liquidity providers for digital assets, the company said in a press release.

The index will be managed by MV Index Solutions, a VanEck subsidiary focused on developing and monitoring investable benchmark indices. With the latest addition, the portfolio will include 24 indices for digital assets. Bitcoin spot prices for the index will be provided by US-based OTC cryptocurrency dealers Genesis Trading, Cumberland, and Circle Trade.

Commenting on the new instrument, MV Index Solutions managing director Thomas Kettner said:

“We are excited to be the first provider to launch a bitcoin index based on the pricing feed of OTC trading desks. This enables clients who trade over the counter to use this index as a reliable benchmark for their trades or potential investment products.”

MVIS Bitcoin US OTC Spot Index is designed as a conceptually new crypto instrument for financial institutions which have so far received pricing data only from unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges. It will have quotes provided by OTC trading platforms that comply with the strict regulatory requirements of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

VanEck hopes this approach will alleviate SEC concerns about cryptocurrency price manipulations and speed up the approval of the Bitcoin ETF.

“The index may pave the way for institutionally oriented products, such as ETFs as well as provide further tools to institutional investors to execute institutional size trades at transparent prices on the OTC markets,” commented Gabor Gurbacs, head of digital asset strategies at VanEck/MVIS.

Earlier this month, Gurbacs expressed the belief that the joint ETF application by VanEck and SolidX would soon get SEC approval because the companies have fulfilled all the requirements of the regulator.