London-based digital asset management firm, Jacobi Asset Management, has announced that its new investment product, the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF, is now live on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. This launch comes more than a year after its original planned launch in 2022.
The Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is being touted as the first spot or physical-backed Bitcoin fund. This means that investors will be able to gain exposure to a financial product that is physically backed by BTC. The ETF will trade under the ticker symbol BCOIN and was approved by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission in October 2021. Custodial elements of the BCOIN ETF will be handled by Fidelity Digital Assets.
One notable feature of the ETF is its emphasis on being environmentally and socially friendly. The fund includes a renewable energy certificate (REC) and incorporates external data to measure the energy usage of the Bitcoin network. The fund then purchases and retires the RECs. Furthermore, the RECs are accounted for on a blockchain service, allowing investors to verify the eco-friendly claims of the fund.
In terms of price data, the BCOIN ETF relies on the FT Wilshire Bitcoin Blended Price Index, which provides real-time average Bitcoin price data from select cryptocurrency exchanges. This spot ETF allows investors to gain exposure to the Bitcoin market without directly owning or having custody of the underlying asset.
The launch of the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is a significant milestone for Europe. While this spot ETF has been successfully launched, regulators in the United States have yet to approve similar applications from major asset managers such as BlackRock and Fidelity.
Martin Bednall, CEO of Jacobi, expressed excitement about Europe’s progressive attitude towards cryptocurrency investment products. He sees this as a potential catalyst for further adoption, stating, “It is exciting to see Europe moving ahead of the US in opening up Bitcoin investing for institutional investors who want safe, secure access to the benefits of digital assets using familiar and regulated structures like our ETF.”
This launch follows the debut of another Bitcoin ETF on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange in June 2023. Melanion Capital launched a Bitcoin Equities ETF, which tracks the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index. This index is a custom basket of European and American stocks closely tied to the market price of BTC. Unlike the spot ETF, the Bitcoin Equities ETF gives investors exposure to stocks from companies with significant investments in Bitcoin holdings, cryptocurrency exchanges, and mining operations.
Overall, the launch of the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is a significant development in the European cryptocurrency market. It provides institutional investors with a regulated and secure way to access the benefits of Bitcoin. With Europe taking the lead in this space, it will be interesting to see if and when the United States follows suit with its own approvals of similar investment products.
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