Iconic Funds receives regulatory approval to launch Bitcoin ETP

Iconic Funds BTC ETN GmbH, a subsidiary of Iconic Funds GmbH (collectively branded as "Iconic Funds") has received regulatory approval in Germany for the prospectus and public offering of a physically backed Bitcoin Exchange Traded Product ("ETP") which will apply to be listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The ETP is planned to be listed for trading the week of April 26, 2021.

Structured as a traditional ETP in the same manner as Xetra Gold, the recently approved Bitcoin ETP aims to remove the technical complications of investing in and holding Bitcoin for investors in an industry-leading cost-effective manner. Each fully Bitcoin-collateralized Note of the ETP represents a claim on a specified amount of Bitcoin, less applicable fees, and will trade under the ticker symbol XBTI with an ISIN of DE000A3GK2N1.

"Bitcoin and the crypto industry as a whole is now being recognized as a bonafide asset class with institutions and investors clamoring for a seamless and familiar way to invest," said Patrick Lowry, CEO of Iconic Funds and publicly-traded Cryptology Asset Group. "Iconic aims to drive the adoption of crypto assets by creating trust in it for investors. Given the list of Tier-1 service providers we have brought together for our physically-backed Bitcoin ETP, we believe we have succeeded in this manner." 

State Street, one of the world's leading Fund Administrator groups, will serve as the Administrator of the ETP in a first for the international bank. Fidelity Digital Assets and Coinbase Custody will serve as the custodians of the ETP's Bitcoin with Bankhaus von der Heydt serving as the Security Trustee. Quirin Privatbank and Futurum Bank act as the Paying and Listing agent, respectively with APs of the note including Flow Traders, Jane Street, DRW and Enigma Securities. All notes will be listed and trading on Deutsche Börse's Xetra and centrally-cleared through ClearStream Banking Frankfurt. Eric Romba, partner at the law firm lindenpartners, and team served as legal counsel.

"Our collaboration with Iconic Funds demonstrates the growing interest in cryptocurrencies as an asset as institutional investors are beginning to consider potential investments in crypto, specifically Bitcoin. As asset managers look to incorporate crypto into their investment products, we look forward to partnering with them on their journey," said Nadine Chakar, head of State Street's Global Market's business. "Our priority will remain bringing our clients and partners economic benefits, as we continue to evolve important servicing needs as part of our broader strategy for the crypto and digital assets environment."

"As we embark on building an open more fair, accessible, efficient, and transparent financial system enabled by crypto, we're delighted to work partner with Iconic and other service providers such as State Street and Fidelity," said Drew Robinson, Head of EMEA Institutional Sales at Coinbase.

Michael Geister, the newly appointed Head of Crypto ETPs at Iconic, said "A new asset class is born! European investors are beginning to recognize Bitcoin as digital gold with the European market for crypto ETPs growing to over USD 5 billion in AUM in a short period of time. There is massive and rapidly growing demand from all sorts of investors who want to access crypto assets. A fully-regulated, robust, tax efficient and trusted solution like a physically-backed ETP is the perfect tool for such investors, and with a TER of .95%, we offer one of the most cost-effective solutions for EU investors."

"Institutional interest in Bitcoin had been steadily increasing for several years, but the pandemic has served as a catalyst, drawing even more demand from this investor segment due to the unprecedented levels of monetary and fiscal stimulus and the attractiveness of a fixed supply uncorrelated asset," said Chris Tyrer, head of Fidelity Digital Assets in Europe. "The maturation of the digital assets ecosystem has been integral in supporting the demand in the marketplace in response to this strong, global, macro narrative."

Iconic Funds is perpetually at the forefront of crypto asset adoption, investing in the crypto space since 2017 and having issued one of the EU's first fully licensed crypto asset index funds in early 2020. By issuing a physically backed Bitcoin ETP – and one of the most cost effective of its kind – Iconic further cements itself as one of the most innovative asset management groups in the world.