Europe’s first Bitcoin exchange traded fund (“ETF”) has listed on Euronext Amsterdam, trading under the ticker BCOIN.
Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF, a sub-fund of Jacobi Investment Funds PCC Limited, was authorised as an open-ended “B” Scheme fund by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission in October 2021.
The fund is Guernsey’s first regulated Bitcoin fund and its first ETF. It is also integrating ESG objectives and is the first digital asset fund compliant with SFDR Article 8 through its decarbonisation strategy.
Jacobi’s environmental strategy also looks at electricity consumption and purchases equivalent Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), which are transparently recorded on blockchain.
The ease of collaboration with the regulator, coupled with Guernsey’s reputation for innovation in the fund sector and its global reach made the jurisdiction an obvious choice for Jacobi Asset Management, whose objective was to launch Europe’s first regulated crypto-asset fund for the institutional investor market.
The team has also partnered with established institutions, working with Fidelity Digital Assets, crypto-asset custody specialists, Flow Traders, Sigma Asset Management and Opus.
Wilshire Indexes will provide the benchmark for BCOIN and future products.
Collas Crill acted as counsel to Jacobi Investment Funds PCC Limited, working with Midshore Consulting on the approval process for the ETF. Midshore Consulting, Jacobi Asset Management, Collas Crill and Sigma Asset Management have been working together to get the fund listed.
