3iQ brings its Bitcoin Fund to Europe, via Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Stock Exchange is bringing Canadian investment fund manager 3iQ’s Bitcoin Fund to Europe.

According to a Sept. 29 announcement, 3iQ’s Bitcoin Fund aims to allow institutional investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin’s volatility without having to buy and safekeep the cryptocurrency themselves. The investment fund management firm’s president and CEO Fred Pye commented:

“Finally, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and the many reputable financial institutions that are restricted to buying licensed, regulated, major exchange-listed products, now have access to the world’s only regulated, exchange-traded in Canada, publicly listed Bitcoin fund.”

Pye also explained that listing “on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange extends the reach of The Bitcoin Fund within the burgeoning European digital assets market.” Nick Cowan—the CEO of the stock exchange—said that the listing constitutes “evidence of innovative asset classes becoming accessible through mainstream investment vehicles which in turn leads to increased adoption.”

While technically not the exchange trade fund (ETF) that the cryptocurrency industry has been awaiting eagerly, the exchange traded product comes close.

Mainstream adoption grows

The decision to expand the availability of 3iQ’s Bitcoin Fund is unsurprising given the recent increase in interest towards the cryptocurrency recently shown by institutional investors. As Modern Consensus reported earlier this week, world’s largest digital asset management firm Grayscale Investments acquired nearly $200 million of BTC in two days to accommodate institutional demand for its tradeable trust, bringing the total to $4.8 billion.

Before the Gibraltar Stock Exchange listing, 3iQ’s Bitcoin Fund was also listed on the Toronto stock exchange in April. The bitcoins backing the fund are custodied by major U.S. crypto exchange and custodian Gemini.

As Modern Consensus reported in January, at the time Gemini launched its own insurance unit to protect user’s funds against loss, presumably winning the favor of some institutional players. Another move that may play a role in Gemini’s aims to be a major trading venue for institutional players interested in crypto is that the firm recently became a licensed Electronic Money Institution.