As per the recent press release, Jacobi Asset Management will be launching the first Bitcoin spot ETF in Europe by July, although the exact date is unknown as of now. The ETF received regulatory approval in October 2021 by Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC). It will have an annual management fee of 1.5% and will be traded on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange under the ticker BCOIN.

Jacobi, the London-based digital asset management platform, will be working in collaboration with three companies: Fidelity Digital Assets, Flow Traders, and DRW. While Fidelity Digital Assets will be in charge of custody, Flow Traders and DRW will serve as market makers.

First Physically-backed Bitcoin Fund in the E.U.

A spokesperson for the Amsterdam Euronext Exchange made a statement on the recent developments:

This will be the first Bitcoin ETF on Euronext, or the first fund directly investing in Bitcoin. All other currently existing products on our segment are exchange-traded notes, or legally structured debt instruments.

Since the ETF is spot and the fund is physically-backed by Bitcoin, Jacobi or any other company that is connected to this process is not allowed to lend, stake, or leverage any of the assets that it owns. The CEO and founder of Jacobi, Jamie Khurshid also said:

For the first time in Europe, investors buying an exchange-traded Bitcoin product will own the units that own the Bitcoin. There are other exchange-trade products in Europe but no other spot BTC ETF…The Jacobi Bitcoin ETF will enable investors to access the underlying performance of this exciting asset class via a well-established and trusted investment structure.

Khurshid also specified that the goal of this product, and by extension also of the company, is to make digital asset investments simpler and more familiar mainly for institutional and professional investors. According to Khurshid, the first Bitcoin ETF in Europe is a step forward not only for Jacobi Asset Management, but also for the whole Bitcoin space.

The same enthusiasm about this news was shared by the Attorney from a Dutch law firm Kenedy Van der Laan, Emanuel van Praag, who helped with the whole facilitation of the ETF from a legal standpoint:

The first listed crypto ETF in the E.U. is indeed a proud achievement and we are happy that we were able to assist Jacobi Asset Management to achieve this goal.

While the E.U. has positive news on the Bitcoin ETF, the situation in the U.S. is different as the proposed Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) transition to a Bitcoin spot ETF was recently rejected by the SEC. Grayscale has specified that it will take legal action towards this decision soon.

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