Bitcoin Equities ETF hits Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange

The Netherlands has welcomed a new equities exchange-traded (ETF) fund that will give investors exposure to a basket of Bitcoin-related company stocks.

French investment firm Melanion Capital’s Bitcoin Equities ETF began trading on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange on June 22, introducing an equities-based approach to investing in the Bitcoin ecosystem.

BTC NA is designed to track the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index, which is a custom basket of European and American stocks that are closely tied to the market price of BTC.

The ETF is compliant to the European Commission’s Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) regulatory framework that is used for managing and trading mutual funds.

UCITS funds allow investment firms to register and sell trading products across the European Union through the provision of regulatory and investor protection requirements.

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Melanion CapitalCEO Jad Comair said the firm’s expansion to the Euronext Amsterdam exchange gives Dutch investors a ‘regulated and transparent solution’ to gain exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem.

“The Dutch market has shown tremendous interest in digital assets, and we are delighted to offer them an avenue to access this exciting investment opportunity within a regulated framework.”

Melanion’s Bitcoin Exposure Index is composed of stocks from companies that either have significant investments in Bitcoin holdings as well as cryptocurrency exchanges and mining operations.

The index includes the likes of MicroStrategy, which under Michael Saylor’s guidance has acquired over 140,000 BTC valued at over $12.6 billion as of April 2023. Coinbase and Robinhood are two notable exchange platforms while mining firms like Riot, Marathon Digital and Hut8 also form part of Melanion’s stock index.

The firm notes that the BTC NA ETF aims to remain correlated to the market performance of Bitcoin, although a minimum correlation threshold has not been established. Melanion’s Bitcoin Equities ETF is also listed on the Euronext Paris and Euronext Milan stock exchanges.

Bitcoin ETFs have been in the headlines in June 2023, with the world's largest asset manager BlackRock filing an application for a Bitcoin spot exchange traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

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