Crypto investment giant Grayscale is expanding its operations with the launch of a new cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Europe.
Grayscale officially announced its first European ETF, called the Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF, on May 16. A Grayscale spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the ETF will debut on the European market on May 17.
The new investment product will be listed on the main European stock exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Börse’s Xetra electronic trading platform. The ETF, which trades under the symbol GFOF, will also be licensed for sale across Europe.
An exciting milestone: Announcing our first European ETF, Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF — listing on London Stock Exchange (LSE), Borsa Italiana, and Deutsche Börse Xetra.
https://t.co/kwmWSxvOiV— Grayscale (@Grayscale) May 16, 2022
Launched in collaboration with Bloomberg, GFOF UCITS ET tracks the performance of the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index. Bloomberg and Grayscale jointly introduced the index in January 2022, with the aim of tracking the digital economy, focusing on three major sectors such as technology, finance, and digital assets.
According to the announcement, the new ETF includes companies that are directly involved in cryptocurrency mining, energy management, and other digital asset ecosystem activities. According to official information about the fund, the ETF tracks firms such as cryptocurrency trading app Robinhood, PayPal, Block, Coinbase, Canaan, and others.
“Through the GFOF UCITS ETF, European investors now have the opportunity to receive exposure to companies that are critical to the evolution of the global financial system,” said Grayscale Global ETF Head David LaValle.
Grayscale also collaborated with European white label issuer HANetf to create the new investment product. The issuer is known for cooperating on blockchain ETFs with companies like ETC Group.
A Grayscale spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the launch of the new ETF is an important milestone for both the growth of the company and the digital asset ecosystem, stating:
“We think the most exciting thing about the digital economy is the fact that we are still at such an early stage of its development. […] That is the vision that drove the creation of GFOF, the opportunity to capture value from transformative companies that are, and will be, embracing or building the future of finance and our global digital economy.”
Grayscale is one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) investment companies in the world, as the Grayscale Bitcoin BTC Trust (GBTC) has USD 18.3 billion in assets under management. Amid huge market volatility, GBTC posted a significant decline, trading at a discount of nearly 31% on May 13.
The firm has been aggressively pushing its US spot Bitcoin ETF, with CEO Michael Sonnenshein claiming that Grayscale was preparing for a legal fight with the US Securities and Exchange Commission if its ETF is denied. The company reportedly tried to convince the SEC that turning the largest BTC fund into an ETF would unlock $8 billion for investors.
The news comes amid growing adoption of cryptocurrency and sector-related ETFs around the world, with total assets invested in cryptocurrency ETFs reaching $16.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022.
21Shares, one of the leading issuers of cryptocurrency ETFs in Europe, has recently expanded its investment offering with Layer 1 Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) infrastructure.
Listed on the Swiss stock exchange SIX on May 12, the 21Shares Crypto Layer 1 (LAY1) ETP offers investors exposure to the five largest blockchains in the DeFi sector. The 21Shares DeFi 10 Infrastructure ETP (DEFI) will be listed on the same exchange on May 18.
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