Bitcoin and Ethereum-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) are set to debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) following approval by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on May 22.
The WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin ETP and the WisdomTree Physical Ethereum ETP will be among the first crypto ETPs to be listed in the U.K. and are expected to begin trading on May 28, according to ETF Stream.
The ETPs will only be available to professional and institutional investors due to the 2021 ban on retail customers trading crypto derivatives. The listing of WisdomTree’s two ETPs comes nearly two months after the LSE’s public notice.
Alexis Marinof, head of Europe at WisdomTree, said that the FCA’s approval of their crypto ETPs’ prospectus would make it easier for U.K.-based professional investors to invest in crypto-backed products that currently access crypto ETPs via overseas exchanges.
In a public announcement on March 25, the LSE announced that applications for cryptocurrency ETPs are open until April 8, with accepted funds listed in May, subject to clearance by the nation’s financial regulator, thFCA.
To gain FCA approval, the crypto ETPs should only be denominated in Bitcoin or Ether, be physically backed and be non-leveraged. The issuers must also partner with an Anti-Money Laundering licensed custodian in the United States, the U.K., or the European Union and hold the underlying assets in cold storage.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and their subsequent market success, which has seen billions flow into the ETFs, have prompted several other governments around the globe to offer crypto accessibility to investors.
Hong Kong also approved the listing of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. Unlike U.S.-based spot BTC ETFs, the Hong Kong ETFs have features such as in-kind transfers and denominations in three fiat currencies. Investors can instantly purchase and redeem ETF units using Bitcoin or Ether.
However, despite improved accessibility, the ETFs failed to achieve the same impact as the U.S.-based Bitcoin ETFs, attracting only $22.5 million on the first trading day.
