ETF Week: Bitcoin Setback, New Pickens Oil Fund

Below is a roundup of the key developments in the ETF space during the week of Aug. 20, 2018:

SEC Rejects Filings
The SEC rejected nine bitcoin ETF filings this week from three ETF issuers; however, the regulatory body said it would stay the rejections and review. There are also two filings awaiting review.

(See: Bitcoin ETFs Not Quite Dead Yet)

Launches
It was a slow week for launches—only one. UBS rolled out another addition to its family of ETRACS ETNs, this one tracking an index that evokes the name of financier T. Boone Pickens, which would be the second ETF bearing his name. The ETRACS NYSE Pickens Core Midstream Index ETN (PYPE) focuses on companies that fall within the gathering and processing, liquefaction, pipeline transportation, rail terminaling and storage industries.

(See: Another Boone Pickens Fund Launches)

Closures
There were no announced ETF closures this week.

Filings
Amplify ETFs has filed for an ETF that will look to provide exposure to what its prospectus refers to as the “crowdfunding ecosystem.” The Amplify CrowdBureau Peer-to-Peer Lending & Crowdfunding ETF will target companies that provide individual loans that are sourced from multiple individuals or institutions.

(See: Crowdfunding ETF Planned)

Milestones
The JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BBCA), which launched two weeks ago, has already hit $1 billion in assets under management—$1.28 billion, to be exact. That makes BBCA the second-fastest ETF to hit $1 billion in assets, smashing the record set by the asset management firm's similarly branded JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF (BBJP) last month.

(See: New Canada ETF 2nd Fastest To $1B)