In a press release this morning ProFunds announced the launch of its Bitcoin Strategy ProFund (BTCFX). This will be the first publicly available U.S. mutual fund that generally tracks the price of Bitcoin.
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On the ease of access and mass exposure that this mutual fund will provide, ProFunds CEO Michael Shapir said that “Compared to directly buying bitcoin, which may involve opening a new account with an unregulated party, this ProFund offers investors the opportunity to gain exposure to bitcoin through a form and investment method that tens of millions of investors are familiar with.”
On the increased demand for a Bitcoin mutual fund, Michael Shapir commented it “has become a significant asset class, and our new Bitcoin Strategy ProFund provides investors access to a bitcoin strategy through a mutual fund investment.”
For now, the Bitcoin Strategy ProFund invests in Bitcoin futures contracts, and the fund holds no actual bitcoin, which creates two degrees of separation between investors and the sats they increasingly seek shelter from inflation in.
The new mutual fund offers investors exposure to the Bitcoin price without the need to separately manage a hardware wallet or exchange custodial solution. Although, the minimum investment limit in the fund is $1,000, which is over 1000x the minimum cost of purchasing bitcoin or sats outright, and more than twice the current cost of LedgerX’s Mini Futures contracts (.01 btc).