Fidelity International confirmed that it has introduced a physical Bitcoin ETP in Zurich. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations building standards of transparency. Fidelity International said that its top priority is to offer investors a novel asset class at an affordable price.
London-based Fidelity International unveiled a new bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) to satisfy the appetite for virtual currency among Europeans. Their exchange-traded product will be a physical bitcoin exchange-traded product known as Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP.
Both the institutional and professional investors can invest in thee German-domiciled product. Fidelity’s Physical Bitcoin ETP is now listed on Xetra in Frankfurt. Notably, the product will trade on the SIX stock exchange in Zurich, Switzerland.
In that context, the custodian for the ETP is Fidelity Digital Assets. The ETP has a charge figure of 0.75% and $6M in assets. The “physically-backed” bitcoin will be held by Fidelity Digital Assets. Eurex Clearing will offer clearing services, while the Brown Brothers Harriman will act as the administrator and transfer agent.
Fidelity Digital Assets is an offshoot of US-domiciled Fidelity Investments. The European managing director of Fidelity opines that blockchain technology can disrupt the financial world with “profound implications for investors.” Fidelity Investments provides a physical bitcoin ETF, domiciled in Canada, that has $30 million in assets.
Interest Is Growing In Europe According To Fidelity International
A Fidelity Digital Assets survey showed that the institutional interest in digital assets was significantly high. The survey indicated that 70% of institutional investors expected to invest in crypto ‘in the near future.’
More than 90% of the respondents interested in cryptos expect to include this asset class in the investment portfolio in five years. Christian Staub, a senior executive at Fidelity International, said:
Buy Bitcoin Now“Providing institutional and professional investors access to this innovative asset class at a competitive price point is our priority.”
Fidelity Digital Assets was allowed by the United Kingdom’s financial regulator, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to operate a custody and trade execution business in 2021. The Fidelity Digital Assets arm has been promoted to the FCA’s permanent register. Notably, Fidelity Digital Assets entered the European market in 2019.
The head of ETFs at Fidelity Digital Assets, Nick King, is quoted as saying that the ETP launch “is the first step in our digital assets product capability.” Fidelity International’s offering is currently the cheapest offering available for European investors.
No Spot ETF In The United States Yet
Fidelity’s ETP product pops up just a few months after Invesco’s Bitcoin ETP launch. In September 2021, FINMA, the Swiss financial regulator, approved two licenses to the firm SIX Digital Exchange. This enables it to operate as a stock exchange and depository for blockchain-based securities.
A bourse is a marketplace for trading securities, derivatives, and commodities. A spot bitcoin ETF is yet to get approved by the United States regulators, with many firms having their proposed products rejected, though bitcoin futures products have been approved.