CoinShares Launches A New Physically-Backed Bitcoin ETP on Switzerland’s SIX Exchange

Cryptocurrency asset manager CoinShares has announced the launch of its new Bitcoin exchange-traded-product (ETP) wherein each unit shall be backed by 0.001 BTC. Dubbed as the CoinShares Physical Bitcoin (BITC), the product will list on Switzerland’s biggest stock exchange SIX.

The BITC product will thus give European investors an opportunity to gain exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) on a regulated European stock exchange. The regulated institutional-grade crypto custodian Komainu shall be holding Bitcoins on behalf of BITC.

Komainu is a joint venture developed and launched by CoinShares, Ledger, and Nomura Holdings last year in 2020. The platform also offers regulatory compliance and insurance services to institutional clients for their crypto holdings.

The CoinShares physical Bitcoin ETF shall be available in four trading currencies. Besides, investors also get to select among 22 Bitcoin ETPs along with other structure products on the Swiss Stock Exchange.

CoinShares’ Chief Strategy Officer, Meltem Demirors told on her Twitter timeline that the new exchange-traded-product BITC will launch with more than $200 million in assets under management. Besides, it is also the first product released on CoinShares’ new institutional-grade ETP platform.

A lot of institutional clients have a very strong due-diligence process, and we wanted to bring to market a best-in-class product to embrace that demand. We are ready, as of January, to embrace the forthcoming demand from institutional clients.”said CoinSharesChief Revenue Officer, Frank Spiteri.

CoinShares' head of product Townsend Lansing said that company has some other Bitcoin products, however, they are synthetically structured. Meaning, they are not 100% physically-backed. "They hold at least 75% of the exposure in physical bitcoin, and the remaining 25% can be used to get bitcoin futures or cash for liquidity purposes,” said Lansing.

But BITC will be 100% physically-backed which is beneficial as it helps to minimize credit risks. Besides, compared to CoinShares other products, the BITC will also have a lower expense ratio of 0.98% against other Bitcoin ETPs charging 2%.

Lansing added: BITC and its platform represent the next stage of this evolution. As the European market leader for these products, we will continue to develop investment vehicles that eliminate the boundaries prohibiting institutions from actively investing in what we believe to be the future of finance.”