Asset manager VanEck, which has a pending application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, said it planned to donate some of the profits from the investment vehicle to Bitcoin core developers following approval.
In a Jan. 5 post on X (formerly Twitter), VanEck announced a 5% pledge to Bitcoin core developers through nonprofit organization Brink ahead of a potential approval of its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product application. The asset management said it had already made a $10,000 donation to the developers regardless of whether the SEC gives the green light to the investment vehicle.
We’re not Bitcoin tourists at VanEck. We’re in it for the long haul. That’s why we made an initial $10k donation and signed a pledge to donate 5% of our Bitcoin ETF profits (if approved) to support Bitcoin Core devs @bitcoinbrink for at least 10 years. Your tireless dedication to…
— VanEck (@vaneck_us) January 5, 2024
The SEC has not approved a spot BTC exchange-traded fund for listing on any U.S. exchange at the time of publication, but many expect the commission to decide ahead of a Jan. 10 deadline for an application from ARK Invest and 21Shares. On Jan. 4, VanEck filed a notice with the SEC to register its Bitcoin ETF shares as securities on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
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The asset manager is one of many awaiting an SEC decision, including BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale Valkyrie, Invesco Galaxy and WisdomTree. The firm launched a media campaign in December, following similar ad spots from Bitwise and Hashdex.
In September, VanEck made a similar pledge to donate 10% of all profits from its Ether (ETH) futures ETF to Ethereum core developers for 10 years. The SEC has previously approved crypto investment vehicles tied to BTC and ETH futures, but any approval of a spot BTC ETF could have far-reaching implications for adoption.
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