Saad Ullah
TSX Ticker
The first ever Bitcoin Fund, it is now officially listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Under the ticker of QBTC.u, the fund is a measurement and monitor of Bitcoin value across different crypto exchanges, allowing investors to have a formalized index. Launched by Canadian asset management firm 3iQ, the fund creates an index from crypto exchanges that include Binance, BitStamp, BitFlyer, Gemini, itBit and Kraken, among others. Being an exchange traded fund, it allows investors to acquire shares in the fund, gaining the ability to receive potential profits from the rise and fall of Bitcoin’s value. This way, investors are shielded from the worry of holding and securing the cryptocurrency. Managing Director MV Index Solutions Thomas Kettner, one of the company that gives indexing services to the Fund said,
We’re pleased that our Digital Assets Indices continue to be popular and that we are now also the underlying index of a publicly listed investment fund in Canada. This will help to strengthen the status of digital assets as an asset class.
Within the fund, there are two kinds of shares: Class A and Class F. Class A shares are open to all type of investors, whether individuals or institutional ones. Class F, however, are only for institutional buyers. Toronto Stock Exchange currently lists only Class A.
According to the CEO of 3iQ, Fred Pye, the firm behind the Bitcoin Fund, Class A shares amount to nearly USD 14 million in investments already.
Participants
3iQ, although the firm behind the launch of Bitcoin Fund, acts as the investment and portfolio manager. Crypto exchange Gemini acts as the custodian, while the price indexes are provided by blockchain data firms Cryptocompare and MV Index Solutions. Tyler Winklevoss, one of the twins behind the Gemini exchange, was elated that their exchange was presented with the opportunity to act as the custodian,
'The Bitcoin Fund' just launched on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This is the first public bitcoin fund listed on a major global stock exchange. Proud that @Gemini was selected as the custodian for this fund. Congrats to @3iq_corp for making history! Tyler Winklevoss@tylerwinklevoss
The launch of the Bitcoin Fund on Toronto Stock Exchange is a three year struggle in the making. The firm had a tough time negotiating with regulators, since the Ontario Securities Commission had no proper regulations that covered crypto based fund listings. The stock exchange, however, is crypto friendly when it comes to firms who are listed traditionally, but are in the crypto business. It already lists big names such as crypto bank Galaxy Digital, crypto miner Hut8 and even Horizon’s blockchain based exchange traded fund.
Saad Ullah
