First-ever spot bitcoin fund set for launch on London Stock Exchange

By Louis Goss

The U.K.'s financial watchdog has approved plans for the launch of Britain's first ever cryptocurrency price-tracking exchange-traded products.

The Financial Conduct Authority's approvals will let investors trade on funds investing in spot bitcoin and Ethereum via the London Stock Exchange for the first time ever, and could see the securities listed on Britain's main market as early as next Tuesday.

The launch of the new ETPs is now expected to lead to "greater institutional adoption" of crypto, by giving professional investors an easy means of trading two of the most popular cryptocurrencies via Britain's stock market, WisdomTree's executive vice president Alexis Marinof said.

WisdomTree's new London-listed ETPs will, however, only be available to U.K.-based professional investors, the asset manager said.

The FCA's position sits in contrast to those taken by regulators in various countries including much of mainland Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil and Hong Kong, who have all made similar ETPs available to retail investors.

Crypto prices have risen sharply in 2024 following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to approve the creation of crypto-tracking exchange traded funds, which has seen billions flow into newly-launched products.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) prices were down by less than 1% on Wednesday having increased by 154% in the past 12 months, while Ethereum (ETHUSD) prices fell 3% on Wednesday having gained 98% over the past year.

WisdomTree said its funds will charge 0.35%, which matches what it charged on the asset manager's other crypto ETPs in Europe.

"While UK-based professional investors have been able to allocate to crypto ETPs via overseas exchanges, they will soon have a more convenient access point," Marinof said.

He noted WisdomTree previously launched Europe's first-ever crypto-backed ETP in 2019 and now offers eight physically-backed products, including ones that let investors trade on single coins and diversified crypto baskets.

"As many professional investors have been unable to gain exposure to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies due to regulatory limitations and uncertainty - we would expect FCA approval of our crypto ETPs' prospectus to remove those barriers to entry."

-Louis Goss

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05-22-24 0934ET

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