The Bitcoin logo is seen on a pillow on display at the Consensus 2018 blockchain technology conference in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar

(Reuters) - Asset manager Van Eck Securities Corp and blockchain company SolidX Partners Inc plan to launch a bitcoin-linked investment product that could be traded as easily as a stock, the two companies said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

The exchange-traded product, called VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Shares, will be insured against theft, fraud and loss of access to the currency, according to the filing, which is subject to a review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The companies said they intend to buy and sell bitcoin in informally organized “over-the counter” bitcoin markets to cap transaction costs, while trading large blocks of the cryptocurrency.

Van Eck, which had $46 billion in assets under management, and several other fund managers had previously pushed for exchange-traded funds based on bitcoin futures instead of directly investing in the cryptocurrency.

This was to address concerns that bitcoin exchanges were not regulated by traditional financial market overseers, unlike the futures market.

The SEC has either denied or tabled all bitcoin ETF proposals received so far, joining a long list of regulators that have taken a tough stance against products and securities related to digital currencies.

Van Eck and SolidX hope to list the product on the Cboe exchange under the symbol “XBTC”.