American investors and advisors will now be able to follow the rise and fall of bitcoin via an open-ended, broadly accessible mutual fund.

ProFunds, a Bethesda, Md.-based asset manager, announced today the launch of the Bitcoin Strategy ProFund, ticker BTCFX, which is intended to track the performance of bitcoin.

“We know the market cap for bitcoin today. There was an estimate at the end of June at around $650 billion,” said Simeon Hyman, chief global strategist at ProFunds. “We know there’s an appetite out there and we feel strongly that folks would have a preference for this type of regulated vehicle. We expect some robust demand.”

By creating a mutual fund that mirrors the price action of bitcoin, investors will no longer have to hold this kind of digital asset away in a wallet and trade it through alternative exchanges.

BTCFX invests in one-month bitcoin futures, which strongly correspond to bitcoin spot prices, said Hyman. “The odds of surprise are pretty darn low,” he said.

The new mutual fund will carry a 1.15% expense ratio.

By using the futures market and a ’40 Act mutual fund structure, Simeon said that advisors and investors are able to access the cryptocurrency asset class while enjoying a higher level of regulatory protection than they would receive from holding the asset directly.

“We think the structure itself has an audience that will find this attractive because the futures market is regulated and almost everyone is familiar with a regular, old-school, open-end mutual fund,” he said.

The strategy can be used in investment portfolios as a diversifier, as if it were “digital gold or a commodity,” said Simeon. Or it can be used to hedge against inflationary pressures, as an alternative to traditional currency investments, or as a straight-forward opportunity to seek capital appreciation, he said.

Currently, U.S. investors can either invest in cryptocurrency tokens directly via exchanges, holding their assets in personal digital wallets or, if accredited or qualified investors, they can access the space via intermediaries and private placements in products like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Simeon said that several proposals for U.S.-domiciled bitcoin-tracking ETFs, which have long awaited approval from the SEC, would not detract from the value of BTCFX should they finally come to market.

“We know that the SEC has not allowed a bitcoin ETF, but they have allowed this mutual fund,” said Hyman. “It is possible that approval for a bitcoin ETF will follow, but we also have ProShares at ProFunds and we will be capable of providing both an ETF and a mutual fund. We’ll be watching that space closely and evaluate the opportunity as it arises."