Cathie Wood's Ark Invest gets behind a bitcoin futures ETF, stepping up its crypto involvement

• Cathie Wood's Ark has put its name to a bitcoin futures ETF, an SEC filing Wednesday shows.
• The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF was filed by issuer Alpha Architect and lists 21Shares as investment sub-adviser.
• The filing assigns the ticker ARKA - a positive sign of coming SEC approval, according to an analyst.

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest just took a step further into crypto by putting its name to a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund filed to the SEC Wednesday.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF will carry the ticker ARKA, according to the filing by ETF issuer Alpha Architect. Crypto firm 21Shares - part of Wood-backed Amun Holdings - is listed as a sub-adviser.

Ark Investment Management will provide marketing support, the filing said.

This is not the first time Cathie Wood has dived into the crypto ETF space. One of Ark's funds gave itself clearance to buy Canadian bitcoin exchange-traded funds in late September. Bitcoin bull Wood has praised the cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation.

The fact that the Ark-backed ETF has an assigned ticker is an indication the SEC could move soon on getting the green light for launch, according to Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg.

"ARK just filed for a bitcoin futures ETF via 21Shares and via whiteAlpha Architect white label (huge win for them). Already has ticker too: $ARKA (yet another good sign SEC gonna approve)," he posted to Twitter Wednesday.

With its involvement, Ark joins a queue of more than a dozen Wall Street players hoping to get approval for a crypto-focused ETF from US regulators. Four may get a green light before the end of the month, according to Bloomberg. These are ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, Invesco Bitcoin Strategy ETF, VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF, and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF.

Last week, the SEC approved Volt Equity's exchange-traded fund, which is made up of stocks with bitcoin exposure such as mining companies. It's seen as the closest to a bitcoin ETF to get clearance.

The prospect of a bitcoin ETF has spurred the bitcoin price back above $50,000, and pushed its market capitalization to return to top $1 trillion. Last week investors poured $225 million into assets backed by bitcoin, the most in seven months, because of the positive ETF outlook, according to CoinShares.