Stock exchanges around the globe start opening their doors for digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The first days of September have brought good news for virtual currency markets, as some of the reputable and regulated trading venues gave buyers another way to invest in cryptocurrencies. Wiener Börse and Deutsche Börse Xetra became the first major European stock exchanges to welcome crypto-related Exchange Traded Products (ETP). Accordingly, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) also declared its entry into the crypto space.
Austria’s stock exchange shared an announcement yesterday, claiming that Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) and Ethereum ETP (AETH) will become available for professional traders since September 1st. This is the first time when crypto-centric products are listed on one of the most established stock exchanges across Central Europe.
Reportedly, the world’s oldest stock exchange officially listed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs issued by the Swiss-based fintech company 21Shares AG. The company has been known as one of Europe’s most innovative digital asset startups that had already launched its first Bitcoin ETP back in 2018 on Swiss stock exchange SIX.
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Exchange-traded product (ETP) is a financial instrument that tracks the value of the underlying asset (in this case – the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum) and is traded on the stock exchange. The method allows investors to get exposure to the two world’s biggest digital currencies without actually owning them. In other words, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs offer a lower risk investment compared to the direct acquisition of the highly volatile digital assets.
According to Thomas Rainer, Head of Business Development at Vienna Stock Exchange, listings of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs bring wider and safer opportunities for the investors:
Crypto-currencies offer experienced investors a new opportunity to diversify their portfolio. With the listing, we widen the selection of asset classes on the Vienna Stock Exchange. Investors can profit from the stock exchange advantages in crypto trading: monitored, regulated and transparent trading with real-time information and secure settlement via their regular broker’s account.
Following Hany Rashwan, the CEO at 21Shares AG, listing in Austria’s exchange allows all German-speaking countries to gain exposure to the new asset class. According to him, all other jurisdictions globally still do not offer a similarly wide range of access to Bitcoin.
Germans launch Short Bitcoin ETP
Although both ETPs are the first crypto-related products for the well-known Austrian exchange, it is not the novelty for German’s biggest stock exchange Deutsche Börse Xetra.
Shortly after Viena’s announcement, Xetra released its own statement reporting the launch of Short Bitcoin ETP (SBTC) today. One of the world’s top stock exchanges has listed the world’s first Bitcoin ETP a few months ago and keeps going further.
Reportedly, the Short Bitcoin ETP is also issued by 21Shares. According to the statement, it is classified as an Exchange Traded Note (ETN) and allows investors to participate in Bitcoin-related ETP short trading.
With the announcement, Xetra becomes the first stock exchange to offer Short Bitcoin ETP (SBTC). Reportedly, it is innovative and the world’s first-ever centrally cleared financial instrument, which allows the investors to gain exposure to negative Bitcoin price movements. As all the ETNs, the SBTC is the type of unsecured debt asset though.
Singapore’s crypto indices
Singapore Exchange (SGX) also jumped on the cryptocurrency track yesterday. The exchange released an announcement claiming to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum Index trading.
The listing of crypto indexes will come in partnership with the UK-based crypto data provider CryptoCompare. As states the report, the “new indices mark SGX Index Edge’s entry into the digital currency asset class”, as the indices will be listed under the SGX iEdge index suite.
The collaboration is the first-ever in the Asia Pacific region and is mostly aimed at the institutional clients and financial companies that use the Bitcoin and Ethereum indexes to track assets’ price movements.
