first Bitcoin ExchangeETPs begin trading on the London Stock Exchange.Get Approved From the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Asset management companies WisdomTree and 21Shares both listed Bitcoin ETPs on the London Stock Exchange today.
New Arrivals: 🇬🇧#Bitcoin The ETP will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange today.
Are you ready? 👀 pic.twitter.com/llurxr1NjC
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 28, 2024
Last week, the FCA approved the exchange listing of Bitcoin ETNs, enabling today’s launch to list Bitcoin ETNs on the LSE, with the issuer pending regulatory approval.
21Shares has listed two Bitcoin products: 21Shares Bitcoin ETN (ABTC) and 21Shares Bitcoin Core ETN (CBTC), while WisdomTree has launched a Physical Bitcoin ETN. (BTCW).
All ETNs offer exposure to the price of bitcoin. Due to FCA rules, ETNs are currently only available to professional investors. “However, the game will change in the UK when the retail ban is lifted. Currently there is a retail ban on trading of bitcoin and ethereum ETNs,” said Alex Pollack, UK head at 21Shares.
Today’s debut marks a milestone for both bitcoin adoption and London’s ambitions to become a digital asset hub. Other major financial centers, including the United States, Europe and Hong Kong, already offer regulated bitcoin funds, putting pressure on the FCA to catch up.
21Shares co-founder Ophelia Snyder said: “The UK has one of the deepest and most liquid capital markets in the world.”
The FCA is opening up the market in a phased approach, and the listing of the Bitcoin ETN will allow professional investors to gain exposure to regulated crypto assets on the LSE for the first time.
