One of the first cryptocurrency exchange traded products (ETPs) will become available to institutional investors in the UK to trade on Aquis Exchange. This arrangement was made in partnership an established British market-maker and liquidity provider specialising in ETFs.
The 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) will become available on Aquis Exchange, a pan-European MTF business based in London and Paris which offers trading in some of the biggest and most liquid stocks across 15 European markets. The ETP will be centrally cleared (CCP) and is engineered like an ETF.
Bitcoin exposure for institutional investors
ETPs trade on exchanges in a similar manner to a listed stock and institutional investors in the UK will get exposure to Bitcoin via a regulated framework and structure which they are already accustomed to. The product has been designed to provide institutional UK investors with secure and cost-effective exposure to Bitcoin without the associated Bitcoin custody and security challenges. One unit of ABTC represents exposure to roughly 0.00035 Bitcoin entitlement.
“This is the right time to bring our successful crypto ETP to the institutional UK market. Our strong track record and existing institutional reach across continental Europe means that investors can confidently gain exposure to Bitcoin via a liquid and conventional investment product.” - Hany Rashwan, CEO 21Shares
21Shares is the largest cryptocurrency ETP issuer in the world, with over $1.5bn in AUM across 14 ETPs available on several European stock exchanges. The UK launch follows over two years of successful testing and launching of cryptocurrency ETPs for institutional investors in Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and the Netherlands.
GHCO, an Authorised Participant (AP) for the product, will act as the liquidity provider for the Bitcoin ETP, meaning that institutional investors will have access to ample liquidity as easily as the underlying asset. GHCO has been actively trading ETFs and recently started quoting crypto ETPs.
