The World’s Cheapest Bitcoin ETP by Fidelity Launched in Europe

Asset manager Fidelity International announced the launch of its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe.

This marked the company’s entry into the European cryptocurrency space. More significantly, however, the ETP garnered attention after being dubbed as the world’s cheapest Bitcoin ETP. 

The Cheapest Bitcoin ETP

The FBTC is listed on the Deutsche Boerse and Frankfurt Stock Exchange with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.75%, the joint-cheapest on the European market along with SEBA Bank’s Bitcoin Tracker Certificate USD (SBTCU). Furthermore, the ETP is set to list on the SIX Swiss Exchange in the coming weeks.

Reportedly, the physically backed, FBTC will be centrally cleared by Eurex Clearing with Fidelity Digital Assets acting as custodian.

The product is expected to earn listings on six other exchanges within the coming weeks. Additionally, Brown Brothers Harriman will act as the administrator and transfer agent for the product. 

Last year in December, Fidelity also rolled out a spot Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Canada. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied Fidelity Investments’ application for a long-awaited spot Bitcoin ETF, just two weeks ago.

The US regulator cited that the company’s application did not give sufficient evidence on how it would prevent fraud. Interestingly, SEC gave the same reason for some previous spot BTC rejections too. 

Appeasing Institutional Crowds

A survey done by Fidelity Digital Assets published last year found that over 70% of institutional investors interested in digital assets expect to have an investment in the space within the next five years. This led the firm to launch FBTC for institutional and professional clients. 

The managing director for Europe at Fidelity International, Christian Staub, said: 

“The underlying Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has the potential to revolutionize the financial system over time and disrupt many parts of the financial world with profound implications for investors.”

As crypto adoption in Europe is on the rise, an increasing number of firms are keen on entering the space. Last year in November, the US giant Invesco unveiled the Invesco Physical Bitcoin ETP (BTIC) which got listed on Deutsche Boerse. About the rising adoption of the technology, Staub further said:

“As this technology becomes increasingly accepted, our clients are rightly asking for an efficient way to benefit from this trend. FBTC offers clients an institutional quality solution to enter the market in a familiar, simple, and secure way.”