Latest news: theBitcoin ETF managed by VanEckidentified by the symbol HODL, showed a notable increase in daily volume, exceeding $300 million.
This figure represents an increase of more than 1000% compared to the busiest day previously recorded.
Contrary to the assumption of significant institutional investment as the main catalyst for this increase, the increase was attributed to “32,000 individual transactions,” as reported by Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst.
Let’s see all the details below.
Positive news for VanEck Bitcoin ETF trading volume
As anticipated, in less than a week after VanEck presented the notice regarding the reduction of commissions on its spot Bitcoin ETF, the fund managed by the company experienced a notable peak in trading volume.
On Tuesday, VanEck’s Bitcoin spot ETF surpassed the 300 million dollars of trading volume, recording more than ten times the maximum volume previously recorded in a single day.
At the time of the cryptocurrency ETF’s launch on January 11, the highest daily volume recorded was $25.5 million, according to Yahoo Finance data collected by The Block.
Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunasconfessed his amazement at the fund’s performance, declaring that the VanEck ETF is “experiencing a surge today with volume of $258 million, a 14-fold increase from its daily average.”
This happened not because of a large investor, as might have been assumed, but rather thanks to 32,000 individual operations, representing a 60-fold increase over the average.
VanEck’s ETF has thus far struggled to compete with products offered by BlackRockFidelity e Grayscale, which have dominated in terms of daily trading volumes since the introduction of the new financial instruments the previous month.
Although BlackRock and Fidelity charge a 0.25% fee on their offerings, with the possibility of partial relief for early investors, VanEck sought to compete on price by announcing it was reducing its fee to 0.20%.
This will begin on February 21, as stated in its recent disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC fined $1.75 million against VanEck
Recently, VanEck entered into a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Specifically, the company agreed to pay a civil penalty of 1.75 million dollars to resolve allegations of non-disclosure regarding the implication of a social media influencer in the launch of its Social Sentiment ETF.
The SEC release said VanEck launched the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ) in March 2021. The ETF was designed to track an index based on “positive insights” from social media and other data.
The index provider had informed VanEck Associates of its intention to bring in a “well-known and controversial” social media influencer to promote the index during the ETF’s launch.
Despite this, the SEC’s order revealed otherwise.
That is, the asset manager did not disclose this planned involvement nor the scalable fee structure to the ETF board when seeking approval of the fund launch and management fee.
The lack of disclosure, according to the SEC, limited the board’s ability to evaluate the economic impact of the licensing agreement and the influencer’s participation, thus hindering the decision-making process.
Andrew Dean, co-head of the asset management unit of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, stressed the importance of accurate information from advisors.
Especially in matters that may affect consultancy contracts. The SEC found that VanEck’s failure to disclose violated the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s words, the Bitcoin ETF issuer agreed to the imposition of the civil penalty, a cease and desist order.
It will also implement preventative measures to avoid similar disclosure failures.
Source: https://cryptonomist.ch/2024/02/21/news-etf-bitcoin-vaneck-aumento-volume/
