First Spot Bitcoin ETF approved to launch in Europe in July

Jacobi Asset Management has announced it will launch a European spot bitcoin ETF this July. The exchange-traded fund will be named the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF and listed on Euronext Amerstdam.

European institutional and professional investors will be able to invest in Bitcoin via the ETF for a 1.5% annual management fee under the ticket BCOIN.

Why a spot Bitcoin ETF?

Jacobi Asset Management was founded in 2021 and led by CEO Jamie Khurshid, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker. The firm comprises “a diverse team of blockchain, technology, investment, and regulatory experts” with a history of digital asset management.

Khurshid commented that the ETF “will enable investors to access the underlying performance of this exciting asset class via a well-established and trusted investment structure.” Jacobi aims to “make digital asset investments simpler and more familiar for institutional and professional investors.”

According to Jacobi, Fidelity Digital Assets and Flow Traders are reportedly an “integral part” of the fund.

Access to Bitcoin

Edd Carlton, an Institutional Digital Asset Trader at Flow Traders, asserted that the listing of a spot Bitcoin ETF “aligned with the growing demand from institutional investors.” Calls for a spot Bitcoin ETF have been made in the US for years.

However, so far, the only spot ETFs to be launched are in Canada, Brazil, and Jersey, which are much smaller than most US-based ETFs. Building on the spot ETFs in smaller markets, the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF is set to be the biggest spot Bitcoin ETF in the world.

Overall, European investors do not have the same variety of ETFs as US investors; just “15 and 20 per cent of retail investors in Europe use ETFs compared to about 40 per cent of their US counterparts.” As a result, there is a lower trading volume of ETFs in Europe, with the European Commission considering removing them from a consolidated tape.

Nonetheless, the move to allow a spot Bitcoin ETF in Europe will likely give institutions such as pension funds, mutual funds, and insurance companies a pathway into Bitcoin that was currently unavailable. There is a potential for a spot Bitcoin ETF to be extremely popular in Europe, given the lack of alternative options for Bitcoin investments through traditional means.