Europe Launches First Spot Bitcoin ETF

Jacobi Asset Management, a firm based in London, has listed the first ever spot Bitcoin ($BTC) ETF in Europe, reflecting the anti-crypto stance being undertaken by US authorities. 

The Jacobi FT Wilshere Bitcoin ETF will trade as $BCOIN and has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam, as announced on August 15, opening up the possibility of Bitcoin-exposure to parties previously precluded from the ability to hold cryptocurrency assets themselves. 

According to Martin Bednall, CEO of Jacobi Asset Management, “It is exciting to see Europe moving ahead of the US in opening up Bitcoin investing for institutional investors who want safe, secure access to the benefits of digital assets using familiar and regulated structures like our ETF. Unlike other products in the European market which are debt instruments, our fund owns the underlying asset directly.”

Jacobi's Bitcoin ETF

Jacobi’s Bitcoin ETF was first approved some two years ago in 2021. However, original plans to list the ETF in 2022 were postponed owing to adverse market affairs such as the infamous Terra/LUNA collapse, and FTX implosion. 

A Bitcoin spot ETF’s approval and listing in Europe not only contributes hope to the future of digital assets in the European Union, but also serves to highlight the pushback faced by the dozens of ETF applicants rejected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in recent months/years.