Author: Emily Nicolle, Bloomberg; Compiler: Baishui, Golden Finance
Summary
WisdomTree becomes first company approved for listing in London;
Trading could begin as early as May 28, according to London Stock Exchange guidelines.
UK financial regulators have approved the first cryptocurrency exchange-traded product, a step to catch up with other financial centers for digital assets.
WisdomTree said it has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to list a pair of physically-backed cryptocurrency ETPs that track bitcoin and ethereum on the London Stock Exchange. WisdomTree said in a statement on Wednesday that the products could begin trading as early as May 28. Invesco Digital Markets confirmed in a statement that its bitcoin ETP had been approved and expected trading to begin on May 28.
ETC Group, 21Shares and CoinShares are among issuers that have applied to list their own crypto products in the U.K. An FCA website showed approvals for WisdomTree, 21Shares and Invesco Digital Markets Plc as of 12 p.m. on Wednesday. That’s the deadline to be included on the first day of trading.
While all of the listed products will hold bitcoin or ether directly, they are open only to professional investors under rules set by the FCA. That stance is stricter than in the United States, where a batch of new bitcoin ETFs approved in January now manage a total of $59 billion, almost five times the total cryptocurrency trading in Europe.
ETBs tied to cryptocurrencies have been traded on other European stock exchanges for years. The success of the products approved by the SEC in January helped push bitcoin to an all-time high in March and paved the way for wider adoption by retail and institutional investors.
Hong Kong has also allowed bitcoin and ether ETFs to list, but the response from local investors has been tepid.
ETC Group said its application is still ongoing, while 21Shares confirmed its application had been approved.
CoinShares and the FCA declined to comment.