Purpose Investments has announced that the first direct custody Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) in the world has been cleared by Canadian securities regulators. Purpose Bitcoin ETF has been designed to provide investors with access to Bitcoin by directly investing in physically settled Bitcoin.
This new ETF by Purpose Investments Inc. will be the first in the world to invest directly with physically settled Bitcoin, rather than derivatives. By directly investing in the ETF, investors will have easy and efficient access to the cryptocurrency without the self-custody risk that is associated with a digital wallet. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF is directly backed by physically settled Bitcoin holdings.
The daily liquidity requirement was one of the unique challenges Purpose Investments faced when bringing the first Bitcoin ETF to the market. Another challenge was ensuring all mechanisms satisfied adherence standards within both traditional ETF markets and the digital asset industry. Gemini Trust Company is responsible for the offline storage of Bitcoin, also known as “cold storage”, the most secure custody in the market.
The ETF was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 18th and exceeded $80 million traded in the first hours. Within its first week of launch, the Purpose Investments bitcoin ETF held more than 11,000 Bitcoins with a value of more than $590 million.
