Jacobi Asset Management to Launch Europe’s First Bitcoin ETF

Key Insights:

• The new Jacobi Bitcoin ETF will start trading on Euronext Amsterdam in early July. 
• Investors can trade the instrument on traditional stock markets across all jurisdictions outside of the U.S.
• The ETF includes a 1.5% annual management fee. 

Jacobi Asset Management, the London-based investment platform that issues and manages institutional crypto products and funds connected to digital assets, has announced that it will be launching Europe’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded-fund (ETF) despite a market slump.

The company’s Jacobi Bitcoin (BTC) ETF will start trading in July on Euronext Amsterdam, which is part of the the leading pan-European marketplace Euronext, under the ticker BCOIN.

Regulatory Green Light

The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF received regulatory approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) in October 2021. GFSC is a statutory body which regulates finance business in Guernsey and supervises a broad range of firms including auditors, banks, payment services providers and investment firms.

The approval allows investors to trade the centrally cleared crypto-backed financial instrument on traditional stock markets across all jurisdictions outside of the U.S. and others with similar restrictions.

Indeed, regulatory clarity helps companies and institutions to get involved in Bitcoin investments safely without the risks associated with the technology.

Legal support through the regulatory and listing process was provided by Dutch law firm Kennedy Van der Laan.

Importantly, custodial services will be provided by Fidelity Digital Assets, with Flow Traders and DRW facilitating trading as market makers. Jacobi Asset Management will provide European institutional and professional investors access to the ETF via a simple investment vehicle for a 1.5% annual management fee.

The funds are centrally cleared with securities held at the leading central securities depository (CSD), a process familiar to traditional asset managers.

A Significant Milestone

The instrument becomes the first exchange-traded equity for institutional investors to access Bitcoin in Europe and is a sign of the cryptocurrency’s appeal despite volatile price swings.

Overall, the Bitcoin ETF will enable investors to access the underlying performance of this asset class via a well-established investment structure. This can make digital asset investments simpler and more familiar for institutional and professional investors.

What’s more, there has been heightened global demand from institutional investors who are looking to diversify their portfolios by adding Bitcoin and other digital assets.

Earlier this month, ProShares announced the launch of the U.S’s first exchange-traded fund that allows investors to bet against the price of Bitcoin – namely betting on a future fall in its value. The ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy (BITI), which is designed to deliver the inverse of Bitcoin’s performance, trades on the New York Stock Exchange.