The first Bitcoin futures ETF, BITO, began trading on the NYSE

On October 18, 2021, a landmark event occurred in the financial markets: the launch of the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF began trading under the ticker “BITO".
 

The ETF was designed to track the price of Bitcoin futures contracts, providing investors with exposure to Bitcoin without the need to directly purchase or hold the actual cryptocurrency. This was a considerable achievement for the bitcoin industry, which had long sought to establish a regulated financial product that would allow traditional investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin futures.

It demonstrated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) willingness to allow Bitcoin-related products to enter the mainstream market, albeit in a form that tracked futures contracts rather than the cryptocurrency itself.