Croatia Approves First National Crypto-Investment Fund

The Passive Digital Asset Fund is the first regulated crypto investment fund in the country

Croatia financial regulator Hafna has approved the Passive Digital Asset Fund last Thursday, May 7. This is the first regulated crypto investment fund in the country.

Hafna also appointed Hrvatska poštanska Banka (HPB), a Croatian state-owned bank, as the depository for the fund.

This is an open-ended fund, which invests exclusively in Bitcoin. Investments that are placed in the fund will remain open for 15 days, or once the assets reach HRK 1 million (roughly USD$143,320) in total—whichever standard is fulfilled first.

The regulator states that the goal of this Fund is to allow access for investors to cryptocurrency, with significantly reduced technical and other operating risks that are traditionally linked with handling and trading cryptocurrency.

Either Bitcoin or fiat can be used to make initial investments in the Fund.

A management fee of 2.5 percent will be followed for the crypto fund. Investors who pull out their finances within one year will be charged 3.5 percent as an exit load, and a 2.5 percent should they exit within two years. There is no performance fee for the fund.

Croatia is one of many countries that are looking to capitalise on the significant recoveries that Bitcoin has made in recent years. Just last December, the Croatian Post made crypto-exchange services available in 55 branches around the country.

The Croatian Post currently supports five different cryptocurrencies: BTC, Ether, Stellar, XRP, and EOS.

“In the future, we also plan to introduce the option to buy cryptocurrencies at Croatian Post’s post offices, thus making them the central points for cryptocurrency transactions across Croatia.” the Post further announced.

Last April, Eligma confirmed that the Croatian National Bank has allowed its crypto payment mobile app Elipay to operate in Croatia.

In 2017, Croatia’s Financial Stability Council warned citizens investing in digital currencies of the significant risks associated with their transactions, as well as possible taxation in the future. In addition, they also clarified that Croatian regulators are also not responsible for any oversight from individuals who issue virtual currencies or trade in them.