European asset management firm’s team blocked crypto ETP investment

Jupiter Asset Management (JUN) is withdrawing its investment in one of its exchange-traded cryptocurrency products (ETPs).

JUN, a London-listed firm with more than $65.8 billion in assets under management, has pulled out of the investment due to compliance issues, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

Jupiter Gold & Silver fund invested $2.58 million in the Ripple (XRP) 21Shares ETP in the first half of 2023. However, the investment was flagged by the company’s regular oversight process and was later canceled at a loss of $834.

The FT cites differences in the regulation of cryptocurrencies in Europe as the reason for the cancellation. Thus, the Jupiter Gold & Silver Fund is located in Ireland, where investments in cryptocurrency are prohibited for UCITS funds. At the same time, several other European jurisdictions allow investment funds to store cryptocurrency.

In January, investment companies Invesco and WisdomTree reduced management fees for Bitcoin (BTC) based exchange products in Europe by more than 60%. The reason was lower fees for U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which were admitted to the market on Jan. 11. According to Gary Buxton, Invesco’s regional head of ETFs, launching BTC-ETFs in the U.S. has led to “unprecedented growth in the supply” of such products.