Fidelity International's top priority is to provide investors with a new asset class at a competitive price.
London-based Fidelity International is launching a new exchange-traded product (ETP) for bitcoin to meet the demand of Europeans for the virtual currency.
The product traded on the exchange will be a physical product traded on the exchange, called Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP. Both professional and institutional investors can invest in this product registered in Germany. Fidelity's physical bitcoin ETP is listed on Xetra in Frankfurt. The product will be sold on the SIX Stock Exchange in Zurich, Switzerland. The custodian of the ETP is Fidelity Digital Assets. The ETP has an interest rate of 0.75% and $6 million in assets. The "physically secured" bitcoin will be owned by Fidelity Digital Assets. Eurex Clearing will offer clearing services, and Brown Brothers Harriman will be the administrator and transfer agent.
Fidelity Digital Assets is a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, registered in the USA. Fidelity's European managing director believes that blockchain technology is capable of disrupting the financial world with "profound consequences for investors." Fidelity Investments offers a physical bitcoin ETF registered in Canada with $30 million in assets.
Interest is high in Europe
The Fidelity Digital Assets survey showed that institutional interest in digital assets is high. The survey showed that 70% of institutional investors expect to invest in cryptocurrency "in the near future."
More than 90% of respondents interested in cryptocurrencies plan to include this asset class in the investment portfolio in five years.
"Providing institutional and professional investors with access to this innovative asset class at a competitive price is our priority," says Christian Staub, senior Executive Director of Fidelity International.
Last year, Fidelity Digital Assets received the green light from the UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to manage depository and trading execution. Fidelity Digital Assets division is included in the permanent register of the FCA.
Fidelity Digital Assets entered the European market in 2019.
Nick King, head of ETF at Fidelity Digital Assets, is quoted as saying that the launch of the ETP "is the first step in the development of our digital asset product capabilities." Fidelity International's offer is the cheapest offer for European investors.
There are no spot ETFs in the US yet
The Fidelity ETP product will appear a few months after the launch of the Invesco Bitcoin ETP. Last September, FINMA, a Swiss financial institution, granted two licenses to SIX Digital Exchange. This allows it to operate as a stock exchange and securities depository based on blockchain. The exchange is a trading platform for trading securities, commodities and derivatives.
The spot bitcoin ETF has not yet been approved by US regulators, with several companies rejecting their proposed products, although bitcoin futures products have been given the green light.
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