Boston-based State Street would act as the fund administrator and transfer agent for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) for which investment manager VanEck is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Should the SEC approve the ETF, State Street would provide services including ETF basket operations, custody of the ETF shares, fund accounting, order taking and transfer agency, the global custodian announced on Tuesday. 

On Monday, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) filed a Form 19b-4, announcing its intention to list shares of VanEck’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The form starts a regulatory review process that could lead to the first approved bitcoin ETF in the U.S.

State Street has served as an administrator for VanEck’s Australia ETF business since 2016. VanEck’’s  Ireland-, Netherlands- and U.S.-based ETFs are also administered by State Street.

““We are pleased to continue expanding our relationship with VanEck to support [its] innovative advancements in the ETF market; including the VanEck Bitcoin Trust,” Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Global Markets, said in a press release. 

“The work we have underway with VanEck is another example of State Street continuing to deliver on our broader strategy of building out the crypto and digital assets ecosystem, which is focused on creating digital cash; custody and post trade services; trading; and token issuance for these new asset-types,” Chakar said.