BitcoinETI Becomes Europe’s First Regulated Bitcoin Product, Lists on GSX
The BitcoinETI, an asset-backed, exchange-traded instrument (ETI), invested exclusively in Bitcoin will be Europe’s first regulated Bitcoin product. Listing on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) this week, the ETI will also be co-listed on Germany’s Deutsche Börse. BitcoinETI will trade under the ticker BTCETI and will provide access to investing in Bitcoin for a wider range of investors. The minimum order size for this investment vehicle will be €100,000 and will be enabled for 31 European countries.
This echoes recent developments with Gemini and SolidX’s Bitcoin ETFs getting ready to launch, demonstrating increasing interest from investors to gain exposure to digital assets such as Bitcoin. This news also highlights how European countries are playing catch up in the race to position themselves as digital currency hubs; the first bitcoin ETF was launched by New York-based ARK Investment Management last year and a recent report by Barclays highlights Estonia and South Korea as the leading countries adopting and implementing innovative technologies such as the blockchain.
BitcoinETI is the result of collaboration between iStructure PCC PLC, Argentarius ETI Management Limited, the Government of Gibraltar and the Financial Services Commission. Ransu Salovaara, CEO of Revoltura, a subsidiary of iStructure PPC, said in the press release that, “By listing the ETI on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, which is an E.U. regulated market, we are able to bring a high-level of transparency and liquidity to investors. BitcoinETI is available through regulated brokerage firms across Europe and settlements are handled through Clearstream/Euroclear, just like any other securities.”
Explaining more about Exchange Traded Instruments, Andreas Woelfl, CEO of Argentarius, stated that “An Exchange Traded Instrument is a stock exchange traded security that is backed by an underlying asset or a basket of assets and delivers the delta one performance of the underlying. European sophisticated investors such as asset managers, pension funds, and private bankers have now the possibility to capture the performance of Bitcoin through an E.U. stock exchange.”
Gilbraltar’s minister for financial services and gaming, Albert Isola, hinted that further instruments could be traded soon on the GSX, “We continue to work with the private sector and our Regulator on an appropriate regulatory environment for operators in the digital currency space and the launch of this ETI on our stock exchange demonstrates our ability to be innovative and deliver speed to market.” Revoltura Ltd. plans on introducing further instruments for other cryptocurrencies, possibly following EtherIndex LLC by introducing Europe’s first Ether exchange-traded instrument.