Finally, it is done. Almost two years after the approval by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC), Jacobi Asset Management, on Aug. 15, 2023, launched the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF, which is the first spot Bitcoin ETF ever. The ETF trades under the ticker BCOIN on Euronext Amsterdam.

I am sure that this product will get a lot of attention from around the world, since market regulators in the U.S. have not approved the creation and listing of spot Bitcoin ETFs so far, despite a number of fillings from several ETF promoters including BlackRock/iShares, Fidelity, Invesco, and WisdomTree.

Talking about the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF, it is noteworthy that the ETF is not UCITS (Undertakings in Collective Investments and Transferable Securities) compliant, as it follows the performance of a single asset. Nevertheless, the Jacobi ETF is classified under article 8 of sustainable finance disclosure regulation (SFDR).

Opposite to other ETFs, the Jacobi FT Wilshire Bitcoin ETF is only available to institutional and professional investors, and has a minimum initial investment is $100,000.

That said, direct investments into crypto currencies like Bitcoin are generally not new for investors around the globe, since they could use one of the several exchange traded notes (ETNs) which are offered by a number of promoters worldwide. With regard to this, it looks like the new Bitcoin ETF may mark a milestone for the European ETF industry, but it may not necessarily be a game changer for investors.

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