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While the U.S. is stagnant regarding the approval of an ETF, Europe is already moving ahead with the first Bitcoin futures launched by ETC Group, a leading provider of digital asset-backed securities.
Europe’s First Bitcoin Futures
According to an announcement, Eurex – Europe’s largest derivatives exchange – will list the first Bitcoin ETN (exchange-traded note) futures on September 13th, 2021.
Thus, it will enable investors to access future contracts based on ETC Group’s BTCetc Physical Bitcoin (BTCE), the world’s first exchange-traded product. The push for a Bitcoin futures option comes after institutional demand has soared in Europe:
“Given the growing institutional demand for secure exposure to Bitcoin, we are delighted to begin listing these Bitcoin ETN futures on our regulated trading and clearing infrastructure at Eurex.
This move will allow a greater number of market participants to trade and hedge Bitcoin, with this new future being treated in the same way as any other derivatives contract in terms of central clearing, netting, and risk management,” said Randolf Roth, Eurex executive board member.
ETC Group, launched in June 2020, is now one of the world’s largest traded crypto ETPs with several firms operating there. According to the company, the futures contract will be traded and physically delivered in BTCE, which is 100% backed by BTC.
Europe Ahead of the US
The regulatory environment in the U.S. hasn’t favored the crypto space, and now even less with the new infrastructure bill introduced a few weeks ago. Regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission are currently stagnating to approve a single BTC ETF application.
In this regard, Europe is proving to be a friendlier environment for crypto products after institutional demand for products tied to cryptocurrencies skyrocketed compared to the U.S.
Despite the pessimism among investors in the States, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenschein said a crypto ETF in the country is more a matter of “when, not if,” and price corrections of last month allowed long-term holders to accrue more BTC.
Several European laws now favor cryptocurrencies more than ever. As CryptoPotato reported on August 1st, German-based institutional funds will be able to allocate as much as 20% of their portfolios in digital assets. The initiative came after various local organizations demanded exposure to crypto-related products.
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