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This delay will probably allow Canadian funds to beat their U.S. counterparts to market, and Evolve is in “the pole position to win the race,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said Monday.

Structural Issues

Toronto-based Purpose Investments Inc. has also filed regulatory documents to begin an ETF based on Bitcoin futures contracts, while Horizons ETFs Management Canada Inc. is “aggressively looking at the space,” said co-CEO Steve Hawkins.

“We have significantly more experience than some of the new entrants coming into the market who have never done this before,” Hawkins said. “I do not believe for us that we would have any difficulty if we created a bitcoin ETF.”

Purpose declined to comment.

Lala said he’d be surprised if his proposed fund starts this quarter. He’s waiting for regulatory approval from the Ontario Securities Commission, and, even if that’s granted, structural issues could still get in the way.

Only three futures commission merchants (FCMs) have signed up to trade Bitcoin futures, and Lala said there should be at least 10. FCMs handle orders and extend credit to customers whose requests are accepted.

“In the U.S., people are not really solving for the structure because they’ve got regulation issues, so what’s the point in trying to figure out the structural when it’s a non-starter to begin with?” he said.

‘Big Guys’

Ideally, Lala said he’d like to see JPMorgan Chase & Co. sign up since most Canadian banks use the New York-based firm as their FCM.