SIX Swiss Exchange To List World’s First Cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Product

Switzerland's principal stock exchange, SIX Swiss Exchange has given the go-ahead to list a multi-cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded product, one that would track multiple cryptocurrencies. The information was confirmed by Hany Rashwan, CEO and cofounder of Amun Crypto ETP, a Swiss startup that is backing up the ETP, Financial Times reported Saturday.

Amun's ETP is the first global multi-crypto ETP to be approved and the third crypto-related product to be listed on a stock exchange after Coinshare's bitcoin and ethereum trackers, and Grayscale’s pink sheet products (over the counter trading). It would be listed under the HODL index — cryptocurrency index fund — and will track five major cryptocurrencies — bitcoin, ripple, ethereum, bitcoin cash, and litecoin.

ETP is a type of security that is derivatively priced and traded intra-day on a securities exchange. ETPs are priced so the value is derived from other investment instruments, such as a commodity or a currency. The fund would automatically allocate cryptocurrency distributions based on their performance in market cap rankings. When one buys the stock, specialized broker-dealer firms buy the equivalent amount of cryptos – according to the distribution – and send it to a custodian for safe keeping.

Rashwan said the upcoming ETP is organized in a way to adhere to the same policies that are required by traditional ETPs. He also said the product would provide a well-regulated tool for trading cryptocurrencies for both institutional and retail investors.

“Amun’s EUN will offer institutional investors limited to investing only in securities or will not want to establish custody for the exposure of digital assets to cryptocurrencies; it will also provide access to retail investors who currently do not have access to trade crypts due to local regulatory impediments," Rashwan added, CCN reported Sunday.

"Our Amun Index will be a listed ETP on the Swiss Stock Exchange and gives you access to diversified market-cap weighted and automatically re-balancing basket of the top five crypto assets," the Amun website read.

The Amun ETP will be managed by the German index unit of investment management firm VanEck, according to Swiss news agency Finews.com. The fintech company based in Switzerland first announced their plans to introduce a crypto ETP in September, according to Bloomberg.

Commenting on why the company chose Switzerland as its base, Rashwan said the company believed it was the "best jurisdiction" to base the foundation and it would also serve their intent to launch additional products, "as well as dual-list across additional geographies and stock exchanges.”

The CEO and cofounder further revealed the company's plans to launch “an index basket ETP first which would make it simple for investors to buy the market rather than trade specific crypto assets, though we plan on launching specific trackers for each asset in the future too.”

The approval from the SIX Swiss Exchange is a milestone for the crypto community as no exchange-traded products exist anywhere. For the longest time now, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has not made any announcement on when it would approve the first bitcoin-traded fund.

This announcement could help the growth of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin price was at $5,564 at 12:30 a.m. EST Monday and has declined by 13 percent in the last seven days, as tracked by CoinMarketCap. The SIX Swiss Exchange is Europe’s fourth-biggest exchange with a market cap of $1.6 trillion.