Canada has already approved a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF)
CI Global has filed to issue the third Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in Canada. CI Financial, a firm with more than $230 billion in assets under management, is the parent company of CI Global Asset Management.
CI Global would work with Galaxy Digital to issue the Bitcoin ETF. According to the press release, CI Global said that it has filed and obtained a receipt for a preliminary prospectus for CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (“BTCX” or the “ETF”).
BTCX will provide investors with an easy and convenient way to gain exposure to the leading cryptocurrency via an institutional-quality fund platform. The partnership between CI Global and Galaxy Digital has been around for a while after the two firms launched the CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund (TSX: BTCG), a closed-end fund in December 2020.
CI Global will serve as the Bitcoin ETF manager, while Galaxy Digital will be tasked with being the ETF sub-advisor. In this role, Galaxy Digital will execute BTC trading on behalf of the ETF.
Galaxy Digital is one of the leading and most experienced firms in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. CI Global believes Galaxy Digital’s extensive experience in portfolio management, capital markets, operations and blockchain technology will help the ETF gain adoption.
Kurt MacAlpine, CEO of CI Financial, the parent company of CI Global, said, “We are excited to build on our existing relationship with Galaxy, which we believe has the deepest global expertise in the cryptocurrency market”.
BTCX will invest directly in BTC with its holdings of the cryptocurrency priced using the Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin Index. The Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin index is designed to measure the performance of 1 BTC traded in USD.
Canada approved the first North American Bitcoin ETF last week. The Purpose Invest Bitcoin ETF is already gaining traction from investors and has collected nearly $500 million in assets under management in two trading days. The ETF is expected to reach $1 billion in assets under management by the end of this week.
Digital asset manager 3iq Corp had also filed a preliminary prospectus for a Bitcoin ETF with the Ontario Securities Commission earlier this month. If approved, it would become the second Bitcoin ETF in Canada.