497K 1 vaneckbitcoinstrategyetfxb.htm 497K SUMMARY PROSPECTUS Document

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VANECK® BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF
Ticker: XBTF
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
MAY 1, 2023
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/etf-mutual-fund-finder/etfs/documents/. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800.826.2333, or by sending an email request to info@vaneck.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated May 1, 2023, as may be supplemented from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
VanEck® Bitcoin Strategy ETF (the “Fund”) seeks capital appreciation.
FUND FEES AND EXPENSES
The following tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
   None
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management Fee0.65 %
Current and Deferred Income Tax Expense/(Benefit)(a)
0.10 %
Other Expenses(b)
0.08 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses Before Expense Reimbursement0.83 %
Expense Reimbursement-0.07 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(b)
0.76 %
(a)The Fund is classified for federal income tax purposes as a taxable regular corporation or Subchapter “C” corporation. As a “C” corporation, the Fund accrues a current and deferred tax expense. The deferred tax expense represents the future tax liability associated with the capital appreciation of its investments. The Fund’s accrued current and deferred tax liabilities, if any, are reflected in its net assets value per share. Current and deferred income tax expenses/(benefit) is dependent upon the Fund’s net investment income/(loss) and realized and unrealized gains/(losses) on investments, and such expenses/(benefits) may vary greatly from year to year and from day to day depending on the performance of the Fund’s investments and general market conditions. Therefore, any estimate of current and deferred income tax expenses/(benefit) cannot be reliably predicted from year to year. Future actual income tax expense (if any) will be incurred over many years depending on if and when investment gains are realized, the then-current tax basis of assets and federal income tax rates, the level of net loss carryforwards and other factors.
(b) Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation (the “Adviser”) will pay all expenses of the Fund, except for the fee payment under the investment management agreement, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense, offering costs, trading expenses, taxes and extraordinary expenses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Adviser has agreed to pay and/or reimburse the Fund for the offering costs and trading expenses that are net account or similar fees charged by futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) until at least May 1, 2024.
EXPENSE EXAMPLE
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. This example does not take into account brokerage commissions that you pay when purchasing or selling Shares of the Fund.
The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell or hold all of your Shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% annual return and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the example incorporates the Adviser's agreement to pay certain costs and fees for only the first year). Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
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YEAREXPENSES
1$78 
3$258 
5$454 
10$1,019 
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund will pay transaction costs, such as commissions, when it purchases and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover will cause the Fund to incur additional transaction costs and may result in higher taxes at the Fund level and may increase the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which will result in a greater portion of the Fund’s distributions being treated as dividends. These taxes and costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, may affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 0% of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, in standardized, cash-settled bitcoin futures contracts (“Bitcoin Futures”) traded on commodity exchanges registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (the “CME”). The Fund does not invest in bitcoin or other digital assets directly.
The Fund seeks to invest in Bitcoin Futures so that the total value of the bitcoin to which the Fund has economic exposure is approximately 100% of the total assets of the Fund (the “Target Exposure”). To the extent that the Fund’s economic exposure to bitcoin exceeds 100% of the net assets of the Fund, the Fund will generally have leveraged exposure to the value of bitcoin. This means that any changes in the value of bitcoin will generally result in proportionally larger changes in the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”), including the potential for greater losses than if the Fund’s exposure to the value of bitcoin were unleveraged. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to achieve or maintain the Target Exposure.
The Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the Target Exposure by using leverage inherent in Bitcoin Futures, and may also obtain leverage in the form of borrowings, which would typically be in the form of loans from banks, and may be on a secured or unsecured basis and at fixed or variable rates of interest. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk as described further below.
The Adviser may determine to modify the Fund’s exposure to bitcoin in response to extreme market conditions, as determined in the sole discretion of the Adviser, and to avoid exceeding any position limits applicable to Bitcoin Futures established by the CME, another futures exchange or the CFTC. The position limits by a futures exchange prevent any single investor, such as the Fund (together with all other accounts managed by the Adviser required to be aggregated), from holding more than a specified number of Bitcoin Futures. The CME’s current Bitcoin Futures spot-month net position limit is 4,000 contracts and position accountability level is 5,000 contracts. These position limits may prevent the Fund from entering into the desired amount of Bitcoin Futures at times. Because the Fund is new, it does not anticipate that the CME’s and any other futures exchange’s position limits will adversely affect the Fund’s ability to achieve the Target Exposure until the Fund’s assets under management grow significantly. Any modification to the Fund’s exposure to bitcoin may cause the Fund to exit its Bitcoin Futures at disadvantageous times or prices, potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses, and prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective. The Fund may not succeed in achieving or maintaining its Target Exposure, possibly maintaining substantially lower exposure for extended periods of time.
The Fund expects to invest its remaining assets in any one or more of the following to provide liquidity, serve as margin or collateralize the Fund’s investments in Bitcoin Futures: U.S. Treasuries, other U.S. government obligations, money market funds, cash and cash-like equivalents (e.g., high quality commercial paper and similar instruments that are rated investment grade or, if unrated, of comparable quality, as the Adviser determines), mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises of the U.S. government (whether or not the securities are U.S. government securities) (together, “Agency MBS”), municipal debt securities, Treasury inflation-protected securities, sovereign debt obligations of non-U.S. countries, and repurchase agreements (the Cash and Fixed Income Investments).
The Fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act of 1940”), and, therefore, may invest a greater percentage of its assets in a particular issuer.
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures are relatively new asset classes and therefore the Fund’s investments in Bitcoin Futures are subject to unique and substantial risks, including the risk that the value of the Fund’s investments could decline rapidly, including to zero. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures have historically been more volatile than traditional asset classes. You should be prepared to lose your entire investment.
The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of portfolio holdings.

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Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a digital asset, the ownership and behavior of which are determined by participants in an online, peer-to-peer network that connects computers that run publicly accessible, or “open source,” software that follows the rules and procedures governing the Bitcoin network, commonly referred to as the Bitcoin protocol. The value of bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures, like the value of other digital assets, and related derivatives, are not backed by any government, corporation or other identified body. Ownership and the ability to transfer or take other actions with respect to bitcoin is protected through public-key cryptography. The supply of bitcoin is constrained formulaically by the Bitcoin protocol instead of being explicitly delegated to an identified body (e.g., a central bank or corporate treasury) to control. Units of bitcoin are treated as fungible, meaning they can be traded or exchanged for one another. Bitcoin and certain other types of digital assets are sometimes referred to as digital currencies or cryptocurrencies. No single entity owns or operates the Bitcoin network, the infrastructure of which is collectively maintained by (1) a decentralized group of participants who run computer software that results in the recording and validation of transactions (commonly referred to as “miners”), (2) developers who propose improvements to the Bitcoin protocol and the software that enforces the protocol and (3) users who choose what Bitcoin software to run. Bitcoin was released in 2009 and, as a result, there is little data on its long-term investment potential. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures are not backed by a government-issued legal tender or other assets or currency.
Bitcoin Futures
Futures contracts are financial contracts the value of which depends on, or is derived from, the underlying reference asset. In the case of Bitcoin Futures, the underlying reference asset is bitcoin. Futures contracts may be physically-settled or cash-settled. The only futures contracts in which the Fund invests are cash-settled Bitcoin Futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC, such as the CME. “Cash-settled” means that when the relevant futures contract expires, if the value of the underlying asset exceeds the futures contract price, the seller pays to the purchaser cash in the amount of that excess, and if the futures contract price exceeds the value of the underlying asset, the purchaser pays to the seller cash in the amount of that excess. In a cash-settled futures contract on bitcoin, the amount of cash to be paid is equal to the difference between the value of the bitcoin underlying the futures contract at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the futures contract price specified in the agreement. The CME has specified that the value of bitcoin underlying Bitcoin Futures traded on the CME will be determined by reference to a volume-weighted average of bitcoin trading prices on multiple bitcoin trading venues, as discussed below.
Futures contracts exhibit “futures basis,” which refers to the difference between the current market value of the underlying bitcoin (the “spot” price) and the price of the cash-settled futures contracts. A negative futures basis exists when cash-settled Bitcoin Futures generally trade at a premium to the current market value of bitcoin. If a negative futures basis exists, the Fund’s investments in Bitcoin Futures will generally underperform a direct investment in bitcoin, and, therefore, it may be more difficult for the Fund to maintain the Target Exposure.
Cash and Fixed Income Investments
In addition to the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures, the Fund expects to have significant holdings of Cash and Fixed Income Investments. The Cash and Fixed Income Investments are intended to provide liquidity and to serve as collateral for the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures. The amount of Cash and Fixed Income Investments held by the Fund may change over time and will be determined primarily by the amount needed to seek to achieve or maintain the Target Exposure.
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN THE FUND
Investors in the Fund should be willing to accept a high degree of volatility in the price of the Fund’s Shares and the possibility of significant losses. An investment in the Fund involves a substantial degree of risk. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Therefore, you should consider carefully the following risks before investing in the Fund, each of which could significantly and adversely affect the value of an investment in the Fund.
Market and Volatility Risk.The value of the Fund’s investments, including Bitcoin Futures, is subject to market risk. Market risk is the risk that the value of the investments to which the Fund is exposed will fall, which could occur due to general market or economic conditions or other factors.
The value of bitcoin and, therefore, of the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures, could decline rapidly, including to zero. You should be prepared to lose your entire investment.
Bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures Investment Risk. The Fund will generally hold its Bitcoin Futures during periods in which the value of bitcoin is flat or declining as well as during periods in which the value of bitcoin is rising, and the Adviser will generally not seek to change the Fund’s exposure based on daily price changes.
The further development and acceptance of the Bitcoin network, which is part of a new and rapidly changing industry, is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing, stopping or reversing of the development or acceptance of the Bitcoin network may adversely affect the price of bitcoin and therefore cause the Fund to suffer losses. Regulatory changes or actions may alter the nature of an investment in bitcoin or restrict the use of bitcoin or the operations of the Bitcoin network or venues on which bitcoin trades in a manner that adversely affects the price of bitcoin and, therefore, the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures. Bitcoin generally operates without central authority (such as a bank) and is not backed by any government. Bitcoin is not legal tender and federal, state and/or foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of Bitcoin, and regulation in the United States is still
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developing. For example, it may become difficult or illegal to acquire, hold, sell or use bitcoin in one or more countries, which could adversely impact the price of bitcoin, and therefore the value of the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures.
From time to time, the developers suggest changes to the bitcoin software. If a sufficient number of users and miners elect not to adopt the changes, a new digital asset, operating on the earlier version of the bitcoin software, may be created. This is often referred to as a “fork.” In August 2017, bitcoin “forked” into bitcoin and a new digital asset, bitcoin cash, as a result of a several-year dispute over how to increase the rate of transactions that the Bitcoin network can process. Since then, bitcoin has been forked numerous times to launch new digital assets, such as bitcoin gold, bitcoin silver and bitcoin diamond. Additional hard forks of the Bitcoin blockchain could impact demand for bitcoin or other digital assets and could adversely impact the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures. A fork in the Bitcoin network could adversely affect the market for Bitcoin Futures in which the Fund invests and, therefore, an investment in the Fund. A substantial giveaway of bitcoin (sometimes referred to as an “air drop”) may also result in a significant and unexpected declines in the value of bitcoin, Bitcoin Futures, and the Fund.
The market price of bitcoin has been subject to extreme fluctuations. If bitcoin markets continue to be subject to sharp fluctuations, the Fund’s shareholders may experience losses. In addition, the Fund’s performance may be adversely impacted by industry-wide developments beyond its control, including the fallout from the recent insolvency proceedings of digital asset market participants such as digital asset exchange FTX Trading Ltd., et al. (and its affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research LLC), digital asset hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and digital asset lenders Celsius Network LLC, et al., Voyager Digital Ltd., et al. and BlockFi Inc. Although the Fund has no exposure to any of these market participants, the price of bitcoin and therefore the Fund may be negatively impacted by unfavorable investor sentiment resulting from these recent developments in the broader digital asset industry. Similar to fiat currencies (i.e., a currency that is backed by a central bank or a national, supra-national or quasi-national organization), bitcoin is susceptible to theft, loss and destruction. Cybersecurity risks of the bitcoin protocol and of entities that custody or facilitate the transfers or trading of bitcoin could result in a loss of public confidence in bitcoin, a decline in the value of bitcoin and, as a result, adversely impact the Fund’s Bitcoin Futures.
Bitcoin exchanges and other trading venues on which bitcoin trades are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated and may therefore be more exposed to fraud and failure than established, regulated exchanges for securities, derivatives and other currencies. The Fund’s indirect investment in bitcoin remains subject to volatility experienced by the bitcoin exchanges and other bitcoin trading venues. Such volatility can adversely affect an investment in the Fund. Bitcoin exchanges have in the past, and may in the future, stop operating or permanently shut down due to fraud, cybersecurity issues, manipulation, technical glitches, hackers or malware, which may also affect the price of bitcoin and thus the Fund’s indirect investment in bitcoin.
All networked systems are vulnerable to various kinds of attacks. As with any computer network, the Bitcoin network contains certain flaws. For example, the Bitcoin network is currently vulnerable to a “51% attack” where, if a mining pool were to gain control of more than 50% of the “hash” rate, or the amount of computing and process power being contributed to the network through mining, a malicious actor would be able to gain full control of the network and the ability to manipulate the blockchain. A significant portion of bitcoin is held by a small number of holders sometimes referred to as “whales.” These holders have the ability to manipulate the price of bitcoin. As a digital asset, bitcoin is subject to cybersecurity risks, including the risk that malicious actors will exploit flaws in its code or structure that will allow them to, among other things, steal bitcoin held by others, control the blockchain, steal personally identifying information, or issue significant amounts of bitcoin in contravention of the Bitcoin protocols. The occurrence of any of these events is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the price and liquidity of bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures and therefore the value of an investment in the Fund. Additionally, the Bitcoin network’s functionality relies on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity affecting large numbers of users or geographic areas could impede the functionality of the Bitcoin network. Any technical disruptions or regulatory limitations that affect Internet access may have an adverse effect on the Bitcoin network, the price of bitcoin and Bitcoin Futures, and the value of an investment in the Fund.
Bitcoin Futures Contract Risk. The use of futures contracts involves risks that are in addition to, and potentially greater than, the risks of investing directly in securities and other more traditional assets. The market for Bitcoin Futures may be less developed, and potentially less liquid and more volatile, than more established futures markets. While the Bitcoin Futures market has grown substantially since Bitcoin Futures commenced trading, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue. Bitcoin Futures are subject to collateral requirements and daily limits that may limit the Fund’s ability to achieve the Target Exposure. Margin requirements for Bitcoin Futures traded on the CME or other futures exchanges currently are, and may continue to be substantially higher than margin requirements for many other types of futures contracts. If the Fund is unable to meet its investment objective, the Fund’s returns may be lower than expected. Additionally, these collateral requirements may require the Fund to liquidate its position when it otherwise would not do so. Futures contracts exhibit “futures basis,” which refers to the difference between the current market value of the underlying bitcoin (the “spot” price) and the price of the cash-settled futures contracts. A negative futures basis exists when cash-settled Bitcoin Futures generally trade at a premium to the current market value of bitcoin. If a negative futures basis exists, the Fund’s investments in Bitcoin Futures will generally underperform a direct investment in bitcoin, and, therefore, it may be more difficult for the Fund to maintain the Target Exposure. If the Fund’s ability to achieve the Target Exposure is disrupted for any reason, including limited liquidity in the Bitcoin Futures market, a disruption to the Bitcoin Futures, or as a result of margin requirements or position limits imposed by the Fund’s futures commission merchant), the CME, another futures exchange or the CFTC, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses.
This risk may be adversely affected by “negative roll yields” in “contango” markets. The Fund will “roll” out of one futures contract as the expiration date approaches and into another futures contract on bitcoin with a later expiration date. The “rolling” feature creates the potential for a significant negative effect on the Fund's performance that is independent of the performance of the spot prices of the bitcoin. The “spot price” of a commodity is the price of that commodity for immediate
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delivery, as opposed to a futures price, which represents the price for delivery on a specified date in the future. The Fund would be expected to experience negative roll yield if the futures prices of bitcoin tend to be greater than the spot price of bitcoin. A market where futures prices are generally greater than spot prices is referred to as a “contango” market. Therefore, if the futures market for a given commodity is in contango, then the value of a futures contract on that commodity would tend to decline over time (assuming the spot price remains unchanged), because the higher futures price would fall as it converges to the lower spot price by expiration. Bitcoin Futures have historically experienced extended periods of contango. Extended period of contango may cause significant and sustained losses. Additionally, because of the frequency with which the Fund may roll Bitcoin Futures, the impact of contango on Fund performance may be greater than it would have been if the Fund rolled Bitcoin Futures less frequently.
Bitcoin Futures Derivatives Risk. The Fund currently intends to invest only in Bitcoin Futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC, such as the CME. The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. The use of derivatives by the Fund can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying reference asset, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. Derivative strategies often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Fund to lose more money than it originally committed to initial margin, and more money than it would have lost had it invested in the underlying reference asset. The values of derivatives may move in unexpected ways, especially in unusual market conditions, and may result in increased volatility, among other consequences. There may be imperfect correlation between changes in the market value of a derivative and the value of its underlying reference asset, and this may be exaggerated in times of market stress or volatility. Bitcoin Futures require the Fund to post margin or collateral or otherwise maintain liquid assets in a manner that satisfies contractual undertakings. In order to satisfy margin or other requirements, the Fund may need to sell securities from its portfolio or exit positions at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. All of this could, in turn, affect the Fund’s ability to fully execute its investment strategies and/or achieve its investment objective. The use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes at the Fund level and may increase the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which will result in a greater portion of the Fund’s distributions being treated as dividends, because changes in government regulation of derivatives could affect the character, timing and amount of the Fund’s taxable income or gains. Other risks arise from the Fund’s potential inability to terminate or sell derivative positions. A liquid secondary market may not always exist for the Fund’s derivative positions at times when the Fund might wish to terminate or sell such positions. The use of derivatives also involves the risk of mispricing or improper valuation and that changes in the value of the derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying reference rate. Derivatives may be subject to changing government regulation that could impact the Fund’s ability to use certain derivatives and their cost.
Counterparty Risk. Investing in derivatives and repurchase agreements involves entering into contracts with third parties (i.e., counterparties). The use of derivatives and repurchase agreements involves risks that are different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The Fund will be subject to credit risk (i.e., the risk that a counterparty is or is perceived to be unwilling or unable to make timely payments or otherwise meet its contractual obligations) with respect to the amount it expects to receive from counterparties to derivatives and repurchase agreements entered into by the Fund. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or fails to perform its obligations, or if any collateral posted by the counterparty for the benefit of the Fund is insufficient or there are delays in the Fund's ability to access such collateral, the value of an investment in the Fund may decline. The counterparty to a listed futures contract is the derivatives clearing organization for the listed future. The listed future is held through a FCM acting on behalf of the Fund. Consequently, the counterparty risk on a listed futures contract is the creditworthiness of the FCM and the exchange's clearing corporation. From time to time, the Fund may only have one FCM with which it transacts Bitcoin Futures, which may heighten such risk.
Investment Capacity Risk. If the Fund’s ability to achieve the Target Exposure is disrupted for any reason including, for example, limited liquidity in the Bitcoin Futures market, a disruption to the Bitcoin Futures market, or as a result of margin requirements or position limits imposed by the Fund’s FCMs, the CME, another futures exchange or the CFTC, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective and may experience significant losses. If the Fund is unable for any reason to achieve the Target Exposure, the Adviser, in its sole discretion, may invest the Fund’s assets in Cash and Fixed Income Investments. To the extent that the Fund invests in Cash and Fixed Income Investments, the Fund’s performance should be expected to differ from the performance of Bitcoin Futures and its returns may be lower than expected.
Target Exposure and Rebalancing Risk. Although the Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the Target Exposure to bitcoin, it is possible in certain circumstances that the Fund may not succeed in achieving or maintaining its target exposure, possibly maintaining substantially lower exposure for extended periods of time.
Borrowing and Leverage Risk. The Fund seeks to achieve and maintain the Target Exposure by using leverage inherent in Bitcoin Futures, and may also obtain leverage in the form of borrowings, which would typically be in the form of loans from banks, and may be on a secured or unsecured basis and at fixed or variable rates of interest. Therefore, the Fund is subject to leverage risk. Leverage can have the effect of magnifying the Fund’s exposure to changes in the value of its assets and may also result in increased volatility in the Fund’s net asset value. This means the Fund will have the potential for greater gains, as well as the potential for greater losses, than if the Fund owned its assets on an unleveraged basis.
Indirect Investment Risk. There are several factors, such as deviations between the price of Bitcoin Futures and the price of bitcoin and the potential for “negative roll yields” in “contango” markets, that may cause the returns of the Fund to differ substantially from the returns from holding an amount of bitcoin directly.
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Bitcoin Futures Credit Risk. The Fund invests in cash-settled Bitcoin Futures traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC, such as the CME. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security or a counterparty to exchange-traded Bitcoin Futures, such as an FCM or an exchange’s clearing corporation, will be unable and/or unwilling to make timely interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt or to otherwise honor its obligations and/or default completely. Bonds are subject to varying degrees of credit risk, depending on the issuer’s financial condition and on the terms of the securities, which may be reflected in credit ratings. There is a possibility that the credit rating of a bond may be downgraded after purchase or the perception of an issuer’s credit worthiness may decline, which may adversely affect the value of the security.
Interest Rate Risk. Debt securities and preferred securities are subject to interest rate risk. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates goes up, the prices of most debt securities and certain preferred securities go down. When the general level of interest rates goes down, the prices of most debt securities go up. Many factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation rates and general economic conditions. Debt securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate changes, usually making them more volatile than debt securities, such as bonds, with shorter durations. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in debt securities with longer-term maturities, rising interest rates may cause the value of the Fund’s investments to decline significantly. Changing interest rates may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Fund performance to the extent the Fund is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility. It is difficult to predict the magnitude, timing or direction of interest rate changes and the impact these changes will have on the markets in which the Fund invests.
Illiquidity Risk. Illiquidity risk is the risk that the investments held by the Fund may be difficult or impossible to sell at the time that the Fund would like without significantly changing the market value of the investment. The Fund may invest at the time of purchase up to 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities. The market for Bitcoin Futures is still developing and may experience periods of significant illiquidity. During such times it may be difficult or impossible for the Fund to buy or sell a position at the desired price. Market disruptions or volatility can also make it difficult to transact a position at a reasonable price and sufficient size. Illiquid markets may cause losses, which could be significant. The large size of the positions which the Fund and other similar funds may acquire may increase the risk of illiquidity by making positions more difficult to liquidate or by increasing the losses incurred while trying to do so.
Risk of Investing in Other Funds. The Fund may invest in shares of other funds, including ETFs. As a result, the Fund will indirectly be exposed to the risks of an investment in the underlying funds. As a shareholder in a fund, the Fund would bear its ratable share of that entity’s expenses. At the same time, the Fund would continue to pay its own investment management fees and other expenses. As a result, the Fund and its shareholders will be absorbing additional levels of fees with respect to investments in other funds, including ETFs.
Active Management Risk.  In managing the Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser will apply investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these will produce the desired results. Investment decisions made by the Adviser in seeking to achieve the Fund’s investment objective may cause a decline in the value of the investments held by the Fund and, in turn, cause the Fund’s shares to lose value or underperform other funds with similar investment objectives.
Non-Diversified Risk. The Fund is classified as a “non-diversified” fund under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund is subject to the risk that it will be more volatile than a diversified fund because the Fund may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers or may invest a larger proportion of its assets in a single issuer. Moreover, the gains and losses on a single investment may have a greater impact on the Fund’s net asset value and may make the Fund more volatile than more diversified funds. The Fund may be particularly vulnerable to this risk if it is comprised of a limited number of investments.
Operational Risk. The Fund is exposed to operational risk arising from a number of factors, including human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or system failures.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund’s portfolio turnover and frequent trading of Bitcoin Futures may result in higher transaction costs than if the Fund traded less frequently. High portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs to the Fund, including brokerage commissions, dealer mark-ups and other transaction costs on the sale of the Bitcoin Futures and on reinvestment of the Fund’s assets. High portfolio turnover may also result in higher taxes at the Fund level and may increase the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which will result in a greater portion of Fund’s distributions being treated as dividends.
Regulatory Risk. Changes in the laws or regulations of the United States, including any changes to applicable tax laws and regulations, could impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective and could increase the operating expenses of the Fund. The Adviser is registered as a “commodity pool operator” (“CPO”) under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act of 1936, as amended and the rules of the CFTC and is subject to CFTC regulation with respect to the Fund. The CFTC has adopted rules regarding the disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements that will apply with respect to the Fund as a result of the Adviser’s registration as a CPO. Generally, these rules allow for substituted compliance with CFTC disclosure and shareholder reporting requirements, based on the Adviser’s compliance with comparable Securities and Exchange Commission requirements. This means that for most of the CFTC’s disclosure and shareholder reporting applicable to the Adviser as the Fund’s CPO, the Adviser’s compliance with Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure and shareholder reporting will be deemed to fulfill the
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Adviser’s CFTC compliance obligations. However, as a result of CFTC regulation with respect to the Fund, the Fund may incur additional compliance and other expenses. The Adviser is also registered as a “commodity trading advisor” (“CTA”) but relies on an exemption with respect to the Fund from CTA regulations available for a CTA that also serves as the Fund’s CPO. The CFTC has neither reviewed nor approved the Fund, their investment strategies, or this Prospectus.
Repurchase Agreements Risk. A repurchase agreement exposes the Fund to the risk that the party that sells the security may default on its obligation to repurchase it. The Fund may lose money if it cannot sell the security at the agreed-upon time and price or the security loses value before it can be sold.
Corporation Tax Risk. Unlike traditional mutual funds that are structured as regulated investment companies for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund will be taxable as a regular corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, as a result, the Fund will be subject to corporate income tax (currently at a rate of 21%) to the extent the Fund recognizes taxable income, and will also be subject to state and local income taxes.
In calculating the Fund’s daily net asset value, the Fund will, among other things, account for its current taxes and deferred tax liability and/or asset balances. The Fund will accrue a deferred income tax liability balance, at the effective statutory U.S. federal income tax rate (currently at a rate of 21%) plus an estimated state and local income tax rate, for its future tax liability associated with the capital appreciation of its investments and the distributions received by the Fund (if any) and for any net operating gains. Any deferred tax liability balance will reduce the Fund’s net asset value. The Fund may also accrue a deferred tax asset balance, which reflects an estimate of the Fund’s future tax benefit associated with net operating losses and unrealized losses. Any deferred tax asset balance will increase the Fund’s net asset value. To the extent the Fund has a deferred tax asset balance, consideration is given as to whether or not a valuation allowance, which would offset the value of some or all of the deferred tax asset balance, is required. The daily estimate of the Fund’s current taxes and deferred tax liability and/or asset balances used to calculate the Fund’s net asset value could vary significantly from the Fund’s actual tax liability or benefit, and, as a result, the determination of the Fund’s actual tax liability or benefit may have a material impact on the Fund’s net asset value. From time to time, the Fund may modify its estimates or assumptions regarding its current taxes and deferred tax liability and/or asset balances as new information becomes available, which modifications in estimates or assumptions may have a material impact on the Fund’s net asset value and trading price. Shareholders, including Authorized Participants, who sell their shares or who redeem their shares at a net asset value that is based on estimates of the Fund’s current taxes and deferred tax liability and/or asset balances may benefit at the expense of remaining shareholders (or remaining shareholders may benefit at the expense of redeeming shareholders) if the estimates are later revised or ultimately differ from the Fund’s actual tax liability and/or asset balances.
The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation and the rates themselves are constantly under review in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department. Changes in tax laws or regulations or future interpretations of such laws or regulations could adversely affect the Fund and/or the Fund’s shareholders.
Cash Transactions and Taxation Risk. Because the Fund currently intends to effect redemptions for cash, rather than for in-kind distributions, it may be required to sell portfolio securities in order to obtain the cash needed to distribute redemption proceeds, which involves transaction costs that the Fund may not have incurred had it effected redemptions entirely in kind. These costs may include brokerage costs and/or taxable gains or losses, which may be imposed on the Fund and decrease the Fund’s NAV to the extent such costs are not offset by a transaction fee payable to an AP. Taxable gains may result in higher taxes at the Fund level and may increase the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, which will result in a greater portion of Fund’s distributions, if any, being treated as dividends. In addition, the Fund will not be taxable as a RIC. As a result, an investment in the Fund may be less tax-efficient than an investment in a more conventional ETF. Other ETFs generally are RICs and are able to make in-kind redemptions and avoid realizing gains in connection with transactions designed to raise cash to meet redemption requests. Additionally, transactions may have to be carried out over several days if the securities market is relatively illiquid and may involve considerable transaction fees and taxes.
Authorized Participant Concentration Risk. The Fund may have a limited number of Authorized Participants, none of which are obligated to engage in creation and/or redemption transactions. To the extent that those Authorized Participants exit the business, or do not process creation and/or redemption orders, there may be a significantly diminished trading market for Shares or Shares may trade like closed-end funds at a discount (or premium) to net asset value and possibly face trading halts and/or de-listing. This can be reflected as a spread between the bid-ask prices for the Fund. The Authorized Participant concentration risk may be heightened in cases where Authorized Participants have limited or diminished access to the capital required to post collateral.
No Guarantee of Active Trading Market Risk. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Shares will develop or be maintained, as applicable. Further, secondary markets may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods in times of market stress because market makers and Authorized Participants may step away from making a market in the Shares and in executing creation and redemption orders, which could cause a material deviation in the Fund’s market price from its net asset value.
Trading Issues Risk. Trading in shares on the exchange may be halted due to market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the exchange, make trading in shares inadvisable. In addition, trading in shares on the exchange is subject to trading halts caused by extraordinary market volatility pursuant to the relevant exchange’s “circuit breaker” rules. If a trading halt or unanticipated early close of the exchange occurs, a shareholder may be unable to purchase or sell Shares of the Fund. There can
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be no assurance that requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the Fund will continue to be met or will remain unchanged.
Fund Shares Trading, Premium/Discount Risk and Liquidity of Fund Shares. The market price of the Shares may fluctuate in response to the Fund’s net asset value, the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings and supply and demand for Shares. Shares may trade above, below, or at their most recent net asset value. Factors including disruptions to creations and redemptions, the existence of market volatility or potential lack of an active trading market for Shares (including through a trading halt), may result in Shares trading at a significant premium or discount to net asset value or to the intraday value of the Fund’s holdings. If a shareholder purchases Shares at a time when the market price is at a premium to the net asset value or sells Shares at a time when the market price is at a discount to the net asset value, the shareholder may pay significantly more or receive significantly less than the underlying value of the Shares. The securities held by the Fund may be traded in markets that close at a different time than the exchange on which the Shares are traded. Liquidity in those securities may be reduced after the applicable closing times. Accordingly, during the time when the exchange is open but after the applicable market closing, fixing or settlement times, bid/ask spreads on the exchange and the resulting premium or discount to the Shares’ net asset value may widen. Additionally, in stressed market conditions, the market for the Fund’s Shares may become less liquid in response to deteriorating liquidity in the markets for the Fund’s underlying portfolio holdings and a shareholder may be unable to sell his or her Shares.
U.S. Government Securities Risk. Different U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. The market value of U.S. government securities may fluctuate and are subject to investment risks, and the value of U.S. government securities may be adversely affected by changes in interest rates. In addition, it is possible that the issuers of some U.S. government securities will not be able to timely meet their payment obligations in the future, and there is a risk of default.
Debt Securities Risk. Debt securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk. Credit risk refers to the possibility that the issuer of a debt security will be unable to make interest payments or repay principal when it becomes due. Various factors could affect the issuer’s ability to make timely interest or principal payments, including changes in the issuer’s financial condition or in general economic conditions. Interest rate risk refers to fluctuations in the value of a debt security resulting from changes in the general level of interest rates. When the general level of interest rates rises, the value of debt securities will tend to fall, and if interest rates fall, the values of debt securities will tend to rise.
Certain financial instruments in which the Fund may invest may pay interest based on, or otherwise have payments tied to, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a “Reference Rate”). Due to the uncertainty regarding the future utilization of LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates, and the nature of any replacement rate, the potential effect of a transition away from LIBOR and certain other Reference Rates could, among other negative consequences, adversely impact the pricing, liquidity, value of, return on and trading for a broad array of financial products, including any Reference Rate-linked securities, loans and derivatives in which the Fund may invest; require extensive negotiations of and/or amendments to agreements and other documentation governing Reference Rate-linked investments products; lead to disputes, litigation or other actions with counterparties or portfolio companies regarding the interpretation and enforceability of “fallback” provisions that provide for an alternative reference rate in the event of Reference Rate unavailability; or cause the Fund to incur additional costs in relation to any of the above factors.
Municipal Securities Risk. Municipal securities are subject to the risk that litigation, legislation or other political events, local business or economic conditions, credit rating downgrades, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer’s ability to make payments of principal and/or interest or otherwise affect the value of such securities. Certain municipalities may have difficulty meeting their obligations due to, among other reasons, changes in underlying demographics. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political changes as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to government regulation, taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders. Because many municipal securities are issued to finance similar projects, especially those relating to education, health care, transportation, utilities and water and sewer, conditions in those sectors can affect the overall municipal market. Municipal securities include general obligation bonds, which are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the issuer, which has the power to tax residents to pay bondholders. Timely payments depend on the issuer’s credit quality, ability to raise tax revenues and ability to maintain an adequate tax base. General obligation bonds generally are not backed by revenues from a specific project or source. Municipal securities also include revenue bonds, which are generally backed by revenue from a specific project or tax. Revenue bonds generally are not backed by the full faith and credit and general taxing power of the issuer. The market for municipal bonds may be less liquid than for taxable bonds. There may be less information available on the financial condition of issuers of municipal securities than for public corporations. Municipal instruments may be susceptible to periods of economic stress, which could affect the market values and marketability of municipal obligations of issuers in a state, U.S. territory, or possession. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly stressed the financial resources of many municipal issuers, which may impair a municipal issuer’s ability to meet its financial obligations when due and could adversely impact the value of its bonds, which could negatively impact the performance of the Fund.
Money Market Funds Risk. An investment in a money market fund is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by any bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or any other government agency. Although money market funds seek to preserve the value of investments at $1.00 per share, it is possible for the Fund to lose money if shares of money market funds in which it invests fall below $1.00 per share.

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Securitized/Asset-Backed Securities Risk. Investments in asset-backed securities, including collateralized mortgage obligations, are subject to the risk of significant credit downgrades, dramatic changes in liquidity, and defaults to a greater extent than many other types of fixed-income investments. During periods of falling interest rates, asset-backed securities may be called or prepaid, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest proceeds in other investments at a lower interest rate. During periods of rising interest rates, the average life of asset-backed securities may extend, which may lock in a below-market interest rate, increase the security’s duration and interest rate sensitivity, and reduce the value of the security. The Fund may invest in asset-backed securities issued or backed by federal agencies or government sponsored enterprises or that are part of a government-sponsored program, which may subject the Fund to the risks noted above. The values of assets or collateral underlying asset-backed securities may decline and, therefore, may not be adequate to cover underlying obligations. Enforcing rights against the underlying assets or collateral may be difficult, and the underlying assets or collateral may be insufficient if the issuer defaults.
Sovereign Bond Risk. Investment in sovereign bonds involves special risks not present in corporate bonds. The governmental authority that controls the repayment of the bond may be unable or unwilling to make interest payments and/or repay the principal on its debt or to otherwise honor its obligations. If an issuer of sovereign bonds defaults on payments of principal and/or interest, the Fund may have limited recourse against the issuer. During periods of economic uncertainty, the market prices of sovereign bonds, and the Fund’s net asset value, may be more volatile than prices of corporate bonds, which may result in losses. In the past, certain governments of emerging market countries have declared themselves unable to meet their financial obligations on a timely basis, which has resulted in losses for holders of sovereign bonds.
PERFORMANCE
The bar chart that follows shows how the Fund performed for the calendar years shown. The table below the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual returns (before and after taxes). The bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by comparing the Fund’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund’s average annual returns for the one year, five year, ten year and/or since inception periods, as applicable, compared with the Fund’s benchmark index and a broad measure of market performance. All returns assume reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available online at www.vaneck.com.
Annual Total Returns (%)—Calendar Year
chart-f076d786def948f289b.jpg
Best Quarter:4.08%3Q 2022
Worst Quarter:-59.26%2Q 2022

Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2022
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Shares of the Fund through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
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Past
One Year
Since Inception (11/16/2021)
VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (return before taxes)-62.72%-69.40%
VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (return after taxes on distributions)-62.72%-69.40%
VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund Shares)-37.13%-51.88%
MarketVector Bitcoin Benchmark Rate Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)-63.98%-69.85%
S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)
-18.11%-14.79%
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. Van Eck Absolute Return Advisers Corporation.
Portfolio Manager. The following individual is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:
NameTitle with AdviserDate Began Managing the Fund
Gregory F. KrenzerPortfolio ManagerNovember 2021
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Individual Shares of the Fund may only be purchased and sold in secondary market transactions through a broker or dealer at a market price. Shares of the Fund are listed on the Exchange, and because Shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, Shares of the Fund may trade at a price greater than NAV (i.e., a “premium”) or less than NAV (i.e., a “discount”).
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Shares (ask) when buying or selling Shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”).
Recent information, including information about the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads, is included on the Fund’s website at www.vaneck.com.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund is treated as a regular corporation, or “C” corporation, for U.S. federal, state and local income tax purposes. Distributions by the Fund of cash or property in respect of the Shares will be treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Subject to certain holding period and other requirements, any such dividend will be eligible (i) to be treated as “qualified dividend income” taxable at long term capital gain rates (subject to certain holding period requirements) in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction (subject to certain holding period requirements) in the case of corporate shareholders. If the Fund’s distributions exceed the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, such excess will be treated first as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the shareholder’s tax basis in the Shares (thus reducing a shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in the Shares), and thereafter as capital gain assuming the Shares are held as a capital asset. There can be no assurance as to what portion of any future distribution will consist of return of capital (as opposed to taxable dividend income). Unlike a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be able to pass-through the character of its recognized net capital gain by paying “capital gain dividends.” Upon the sale of Shares, a shareholder generally will recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale and the shareholder’s adjusted tax basis in the Shares sold. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
The Adviser and its related companies may pay broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank) for the sale of the Fund Shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker-dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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800.826.2333
vaneck.com
XBTFSUM
(05/2023)