Fidelity launches Bitcoin ETP

To meet increased digital asset demand from European investors, Fidelity International has brought a physical Bitcoin (BTC/USD) exchange traded product to market, FT reported. The Bitcoin ETP’s custodian will be Fidelity Digital Assets, the digital assets arm of US-based Fidelity Investments.

This development follows a similar move by Invesco. Three months ago, they launched a Bitcoin ETP against the backdrop of increasing willingness by large asset managers to enter the cryptocurrency space.

Fidelity ETP only available to pro investors

Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETP will be available to professional and institutional investors in Europe. It is listed on Xetra in Frankfurt and will start trading on Zurich’s Six in the near future.

Nick King, head of exchange traded funds at Fidelity, called the launch the first step in the direction of “digital assets product capability” and an “important evolution” in his company’s ETP product suite.

The ETP entered the market with assets worth approx. $6 million. It has a running charges figure of 0.75%. Christian Staub, managing director for Europe at Fidelity, said:

The ETP’s underlying distributed ledger technology has the potential to revolutionise the financial system over time and disrupt many parts of the financial world with profound implications for investors.

According to a recent survey by Fidelity Digital Assets, almost three-quarters of institutional investors want to be able to invest in or purchase digital assets in the immediate future. The vast majority of respondents added they expected their portfolio to include digital assets in the next five years.

Fidelity is officially registered with the UK FCA

The launch comes in the wake of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority granting Fidelity Digital Assets official registration status for its digital assets trade and custody business last year. Previously, the digital assets arm of Fidelity Investments was listed as a temporary member on the register of the FCA.

Initially, Fidelity Digital Assets introduced digital assets services for institutional investors in the US. In 2019, they set up a European outpost.

Fidelity has $813 billion assets under management in total. In early December, Fidelity Investments launched a Canadian-domiciled physical bitcoin ETF, which manages assets worth $30 million.

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