French fund manager Melanion Capital’s Bitcoin Equities ETF has begun trading on Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.
The news presents an opportunity for investors in the Netherlands to gain exposure to Bitcoin through a regulated entity.
Jad Comair, the CEO of Melanion Capital, expressed satisfaction in being able to provide Dutch investors with a regulated and compliant platform through which they can engage with and invest in the promising opportunities offered by the digital asset space.
“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,” he said.
Melanion Capital’s Bitcoin Equities ETF started trading on Euronext Paris in October 2021. In June 2022, it became available on Borsa Italiana. The ETF’s inclusion on the Euronext Amsterdam marks its expansion to the third trading platform.
Like many other Bitcoin ETFs, Melanion Capital’s Bitcoin Equities ETF invests in publicly traded companies that are involved in the Bitcoin ecosystem, such as crypto exchanges, mining companies, technology providers, or financial institutions offering Bitcoin-related services. This enables it to grant investors exposure to the potential growth and performance of the industry without directly owning or dealing with cryptocurrencies.
Some of its top investments are Microstrategy, Coinbase, Marathon Digital Holdings, Robinhood, Nuvei Corp to name a few. Its list of holdings reflects the company’s statement that the ETF is 90% correlated to the price of bitcoin.
Exposure to Bitcoin
Melanion Capital’s Bitcoin Equities ETF’s foray into the Dutch market has brought a much-needed relief to crypto investors and enthusiasts in the country following the exit of Binance.
The leading centralised exchange announced its exit from the Netherlands after failing to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence. Effective immediately, the company has announced that it will no longer accept new account registrations from Dutch customers.
Furthermore, starting from 17 July, existing Dutch customers will no longer have the ability to execute trades or make deposits through the platform.
“Although we explored many alternative avenues to service Dutch residents in compliance with Dutch regulations, unfortunately this has not resulted in a VASP registration in the Netherlands at this time … Binance will continue striving to obtain authorizations to provide our products and services to users in the Netherlands,” it said in a statement.
As centralised exchanges continue to struggle with regulators, asset management companies like Melanion Capital are seizing the opportunity to sell their ability to offer regulated exposure to Bitcoin through ETFs. The movement has led to a surge in Bitcoin’s price after BlackRock, Invesco, WisdomTree and Valkyrie all filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
