There have been no less than four issuers launching cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) on Euronext Paris and three on Euronext Amsterdam this morning, in a sign of the major competition in the digital assets space.
WisdomTree, ETC Group and VanEck have listed their bitcoin and ethereum ETPs on both Euronext exchanges while 21Shares has listed three crypto ETPs in Paris including a short bitcoin strategy.
The crypto ETP market is fragmented in Europe with just Swiss and German exchanges accepting listings, however, France and the Netherlands have now joined them.
Jason Guthrie, head of digital assets, Europe, at WisdomTree, said the listings on Euronext exchanges enables more access points for investors to trade bitcoin and ethereum ETPs.
“This milestone represents the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies, the evolving European regulatory landscape and the latest signal that digital assets are here to stay,” Guthrie added.
“A willingness from regulators and exchanges to list cryptocurrency ETPs is lending further credibility to this growing and popular asset class.”
While Bradley Duke, CEO of ETC Group, said the moves would make it easier for local investors to gain more access to crypto ETPs which are secure and regulated.
Duke commented: “These latest listings in Paris and Amsterdam, both key financial hubs in Europe, increase the availability and ease of access to our ETC products for a wider range of institutional investors.”
Furthermore, Laurent Kssis, managing director at 21Shares, said the firm’s triple listing in Paris highlights France’s support for blockchain and the efforts by regulators to promote cryptocurrencies in the country.
Not all regulators have been as forthcoming, however. In the UK, for example, the Financial Conduct Authority has banned the sale of crypto ETNs to retail investors while in Sweden, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority called on issuers to reconsider the sale of crypto ETPs to retail investors in February.
The price of bitcoin has fallen dramatically over the past month to as low as $30,000, a 54% drop, following comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining and a crackdown on from the Chinese government on cryptocurrencies highlighting the volatile nature of the asset class.
