Day-Trader ‘BTFD’ Mantra Inspires Ticker for Planned Bitcoin ETF By

(Bloomberg) — With the first U.S. futures ETF launching Tuesday and many more in the queue, one little-known asset manager is looking to stand out by directly tapping the lexicon of the day-trading crowd for its ticker. 

The Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, due to debut on Wednesday, will now trade under the ticker BTFD, according to an update to the firm’s filing made late on Monday. 

It’s a profanity-powered version of “Buy the Dip” — a call-to-arms popular with the Reddit army and vindicated over the years as risk assets from stocks to digital assets boomed to new highs after staging precipitous declines. Before Monday, filings indicated the fund would list under the ticker BTF. 

BTFD is aiming to be the second U.S.-listed fund linked to the digital asset via the futures market. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSE:)) will be the first when it debuts on Tuesday. 

The arrival of Bitcoin ETFs in Canada showed that first movers may enjoy a considerable advantage, even with just days between launches, so it seems Valkyrie may be looking to draw attention to its own offering. 

It remains to be seen if the Securities and Exchange Commission will permit the suggestive lettering — the amended paperwork comes with a standard disclosure that acknowledges “the information in this Prospectus is not complete and may be changed.” 

“We saw the overwhelming feedback on social media to our initial ticker,” Leah Wald, CEO at Valkyrie Funds, said by email. The firm “decided to make the change in a nod to the broader crypto community,” she said.

Nasdaq has already accepted the new ticker, Wald said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.