Jacobi Asset Management, headquartered in London, has introduced Europe's first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Euronext Amsterdam.
First Spot Bitcoin ETF on Euronext Amsterdam
Jacobi Asset Management, headquartered in London, has introduced Europe's first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Euronext Amsterdam, almost two years after receiving initial approval.
Named the Jacobi FT Wilshere Bitcoin ETF and governed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC), the ETF will operate under the symbol "BCOIN." Fidelity Digital Assets serves as the custody provider for the fund, while Flow Traders, a trading firm, functions as the market maker, as confirmed by Jacobi.
Initially granted approval for the fund in October 2021 with intentions to list in 2022, Jacobi opted to delay its plans due to adverse conditions in the digital asset market, including the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and the insolvency of crypto exchange FTX.
While exchange-traded products (ETPs), which include exchange-traded notes (ETNs), are widely used in Europe, Jacobi's offering is the first ETF. Unlike holders of ETNs who own a debt product, ETF investors own shares in the underlying company. Jacobi emphasizes that their ETF does not use leverage or derivatives, in contrast to ETNs.
Surprisingly, Europe will debut a spot Bitcoin ETF before the United States, despite numerous applications submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over recent years, all of which were denied.
There is renewed optimism, however, that the regulator may approve a spot Bitcoin fund, following the application by the largest asset manager, BlackRock. This led to a wave of new or amended applications featuring "surveillance-sharing" agreements aimed at preventing market manipulation. However, the decision on ARK Invest and 21Shares’ Bitcoin ETF was delayed recently, with some, like former SEC head John Reed Stark, believing the current SEC will not approve the applications.
