The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has unveiled a "crypto ETN admission factsheet," highlighting its choice to welcome submissions for Bitcoin exchange-traded notes (ETNs).
This initiative is a step towards broadening its range of products and offering investors the opportunity to gain exposure to Bitcoin.
Bitcoin exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are financial products that mirror Bitcoin's price movements and can be traded on conventional stock exchanges.
By introducing Bitcoin ETNs, the LSE aims to provide investors with a way to gain BTC exposure within a regulated and familiar framework.
According to the factsheet, the envisioned Crypto ETN would be:
- Physically backed, meaning it's not leveraged.
- Tied to a market price or another reliable and publicly accessible valuation of the underlying asset. The factsheet also specifies that the underlying crypto assets must be either: (i) primarily stored in 'cold storage' (offline storage solutions), including cold staking, or (ii) protected by measures equivalent to cold storage in terms of security.
The LSE's move to accept Bitcoin ETN applications is a response to the increasing interest in BTC investments from mainstream investors and institutions.
With Bitcoin's growing appeal, traditional financial entities are looking for ways to integrate the asset into their product portfolios.
This initiative by the LSE also underscores the changing regulatory environment for Bitcoin. As regulatory clarity emerges in various regions, institutions are becoming more open to providing BTC-centric products to their clients.