Grayscale Investments Launches Its First European ETF
Grayscale Investments has announced that it will launch its first exchange-traded fund focused on Europe. The Grayscale Future of Finance Exchange-traded fund (UCITS ETF (ticker: GFOF)) seeks to track the performance of Bloomberg’s Future of Finance Index. GFOF will be listed on Borsa Italiana, London Stock Exchange (LSE), and Deutsche Börse Xetra and transported for sale across Europe.
Expanding the Firm
By creating an ETF wrapper, the firm aims to expose investors to companies at the intersection of finance, technology, and digital assets. The firm claims that these companies are building the digital economy.
David LaValle, global head of ETFs at Grayscale Investments, added:
“Through GFOF, European investors now have the opportunity to receive exposure to the companies that are pivotal to the evolution of the global financial system.”
In the release, grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein stated, “This product draws upon our historical strengths while furthering our evolution as an asset manager that helps investors build portfolios that can stand the test of time.”
The Grayscale Future of Finance Index aims to measure the future of finance through the companies focused on the digital economy. It features three pillars: asset managers, exchanges, and wealth managers. The company noted that the launch of its first GFOF UCITS ETF is a natural step in its global strategy. It will allow Grayscale to continue providing investors with various products and services.
“In the past few years, we have seen an explosion of digital innovations and solutions disrupting the global financial sector, making it more accessible, transparent and inclusive,” said Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-Founder of HANetf. “We are excited to work with a trusted partner like Grayscale to bring an ETF to the European market providing exposure to the digital economy.”
In Europe, HANetf was one of the first financial institutions to help launch the first uranium exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the Sprott Uranium Miners UCITS ETF (URNM) in Europe.
Grayscale also launched an ETF tracking the same Index in the United States in February 2022. The announcement stated that these companies are essential in the emerging digital economy. They include various sectors such as exchanges, asset managers, and technology providers.
ETF Regulation
Investors in Europe have the option of ETFs as they are allowed operation in top exchanges. For instance, several of the funds from WisdomTree, such as the ADA, SOL, and DOT, were launched on Swiss exchanges on March 29. According to Bloomberg, there was $7.3 billion invested in European exchange-traded funds last month.
Unfortunately, there’s no such luck in the U.S. regarding bitcoin spot ETFs that hold cryptocurrencies. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved several bitcoin futures contracts.
On the other hand, the SEC thinks market manipulation is more significant than other regulators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has continuously rejected the applications of exchange operators to establish surveillance-sharing agreements that would prevent manipulative and fraudulent acts and practices in the bitcoin market. Instead, they argued that other means would be sufficient to avoid these activities.
Australia’s First Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs
Meanwhile, the debut of Australia’s first exchange-traded fund focused on cryptocurrencies was met with a muted reception. In a statement, Cboe Australia said it had launched the first exchange-traded funds to allow Australian investors to directly and safely participate in the world’s most significant digital currencies, namely Bitcoin and Ethereum. It also said it had also launched the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access Fund.
