Canadian asset management firm 3iQ has received clearance from regulators to bring its BTC Fund to Nasdaq Dubai, per Reuters.
The BTC Fund, which was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange last year, will be the first indexed cryptocurrency fund the Middle East has seen. It holds approximately $1.5 billion in assets under management, and according to a Reuters interview with 3iQ chairman and CEO, Frederick Pye, it plans to double this figure next year.
“The idea is BTC trades 24 hours a day, so our interest is to bring a regulated product to the Dubai market in their time hours,” Pye said.
When will 3iQ’s BTC Fund appear on Nasdaq Dubai?
Per Reuters, the 3iQ BTC Fund is expected to start trading on Nasdaq Dubai in the second quarter of 2021.
What’s more, the asset management firm is already in talks with exchanges in Singapore, Taiwan, Sweden, and the United States to list the 3iQ BTC Fund in those jurisdictions. The aim is to offer customers access to crypto around the clock, in all time zones.
“We believe that this is the opportune moment to expand this unique investment opportunity into the Middle East region,” Pye added.
BTC funds spring up as institutional investors flock to BTC
3iQ’s move into the Middle East is just the latest example of a growing wave of institutional investment in BTC. Ever since software firm MicroStrategy put $425 million into BTC last summer, institutional investors have piled into the cryptocurrency, with BTC funds springing up to service the growing market.
As well as 3iQ’s BTC fund, the Grayscale BTC Fund (GBTC)—per figures gathered this month—represents approximately $37 billion worth of privately held BTC, while the Skybridge Capital BTC Fund, launched in January of this year, grew by $370 million in its first few weeks.
Even Morgan Stanley—one of the world’s largest financial institutions—recently announced that it will offer some of its investors access to BTC funds. Clients must meet a $2 million threshold to qualify.
While BTC funds are a popular financial project today, some, including Skybridge Capital’s COO Brett Messing, have suggested that the emergence of a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) would put his—and conceivably other private funds—out of business.
It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that Skybridge Capital has since applied for a BTC ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission, while Grayscale has stated that it’s “100% committed” to converting GBTC into a BTC ETF.
