By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 24th, 2024
Managing Director for Europe at Fidelity International, Christian Staub noted that the distributed ledger technology could change the face of financial systems.
Fidelity International has made its first foray into the crypto space in Europe by launching a bitcoin ETP. The Physical Bitcoin ETP tracks the price of Bitcoin by market value and is available to the company’s professional and institutional clients in Europe.
According to the company, its decision was based on an internal survey which suggested that 70% of institutional respondents have plans to invest in digital currency in the future.
The product has since been firm listed on the Deutsche Börse and Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is also set to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich in the coming weeks.
How the Bitcoin ETP Will Run
The Bitcoin ETP will trade under the ticker FBTC at 75 basis points. Consequently, it is the cheapest on the market together with SEBA Bank’s Bitcoin Tracker Certificate USD (SBTCU).
Eurex Clearing will provide clearance services for the physically backed while Fidelity Digital Assets acts as custodian. Brown Brothers Harriman will double as the administrator and transfer agent for the Bitcoin ETP.
Managing Director for Europe at Fidelity International Christian Staub noted that the distributed ledger technology could change the face of financial systems. He said:
“As this technology becomes increasingly accepted, our clients are rightly asking for an efficient way to benefit from this trend.”
Staub believes FBTC offers clients an institution-grade solution that is easy, simple and secure for new market entrants.
No Green Light from SEC
In recent times, there seems to be an uptick in spot crypto ETP launches. Just in November, Invesco launched the Invesco Physical Bitcoin ETP (BTIC). In December, Fidelity Investments’ Canadian subsidiary also launched an ETF to invest directly in Bitcoin.
Despite the uptick, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved a spot crypto ETF in the US. The agency also denied any claims it received a filing for a Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in January.
However, there are claims the firm is pursuing approval for its bitcoin ETP product in the US market. Asides from this, the company filed for a pair of ETF investments in the metaverse and general crypto ecosystem.
Fidelity International is a spill-off from Fidelity Investments which manages about $4.5 trillion in discretionary assets and client assets worth $812.8 billion.