Invesco launches ‘physical’ Bitcoin ETP in Europe

Shortly after the withdrawal of an offer based on US futures, the asset manager entered Europe with a cash offer.

Invesco has launched a listed bitcoin product in Europe.

The Invesco Physical Bitcoin fund is listed on Deutsche Boerse under the symbol BTIC.

The offering is “physically” backed by bitcoin and tracks the CoinShares benchmark price index minus fees.

Asset manager Invesco has launched a spot-traded bitcoin (ETP) product in Europe, ETF Stream reported. The offering is “physically” backed by real bitcoin and follows Bitcoin CoinShares’ hourly benchmark rate, seeking to offer BTC performance minus fees.

“For the past two or three years we’ve been trying to structure a product that looks, from an institutional point of view, as close as possible to a traditional ETF like our gold structure, and that has been the driving force behind the Schedules line. at BTIC, Gary Buxton, head of ETF EMEA and Invesco’s indexed strategies, told ETF Stream.

“In recent years we have been under pressure from institutional clients and we needed to see how far we can access this space,” Buxton added. “Most of the discussions we have with clients aren’t really about bitcoin per se, but more about accessing bitcoin and how comfortable you are with segregation, how comfortable you are with it. comfortable with the evaluation. Indeed, one of the strengths of the ETP is to be an access vehicle. “

Invesco’s physical Bitcoin ETP is traded on Deutsche Boerse under the symbol BTIC with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.99%. The product is aimed at institutional investors looking for a more convenient investment vehicle to gain exposure to the price of bitcoin.

“Custody of bitcoins on behalf of BTIC will be carried out by Zodia Custody registered with the UK-based FCA,” according to the report. The custodian incubated by SC Ventures, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered, received regulatory approval later this summer. Northern Trust will act as trustee of BTIC, while CoinShares will act as index sponsor and product execution agent.

By holding real bitcoin, BTIC is more likely to work the same as cash BTC than bitcoin-related offerings such as derivatives or trust products like GBTC, which are currently traded at a discount.

BTIC is technically an Exchange Traded Note (ETN), a reference name that differs from the more common Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). However, the differences are mostly semantic, as VanEck director Gabor Gurbacs explains.

“In Europe, only baskets of stocks can be called exchange-traded funds (ETFs),” Gurbacs tweeted. “Most single-asset commodities are structured like an exchange-traded note (ETN). Some are physically backed and others are certified / bank backed. The listed product (ETP) is the general category. “