Agricultural fund provider Teucrium files with SEC for Bitcoin ETF

Teucrium Trading, an agriculture-focused exchange-traded fund provider, is planning to expand its ETF suite with Bitcoin.

On Thursday, the company filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) ETF that would track a benchmark of Bitcoin futures contracts.

Dubbed Teucrium Bitcoin Futures Fund, the planned ETF is designed to provide investors with a way to gain price exposure to the Bitcoin market. Should the SEC approve the new product, Teucrium will issue shares that trade on the NYSE Arca stock exchange under the symbol BCFU. 

The contract would be settled in cash, “However, the Fund may from time to time trade in other exchange listed Bitcoin interests based on the spot price of Bitcoin,” the application reads. “Because the Fund’s investment objective is to track the price of the Benchmark Bitcoin Futures Contracts, changes in the price of the shares may vary from changes in the spot price of Bitcoin,” Teucrium noted.

Headquartered in Vermont, Teucrium currently provides several agricultural ETFs trading on NYSE Arca, including the Teucrium Corn Fund, the Teucrium Wheat Fund, the Teucrium Soybean Fund, the Teucrium Sugar Fund and the Teucrium Agricultural Fund.

The news comes shortly after the SEC issued an investor warning pointing out the risks of some mutual funds with exposure to Bitcoin futures. The commission stressed that Bitcoin is a “highly speculative investment,” stating that the market is not properly regulated and vulnerable to fraud or manipulation.