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Regulators in Switzerland approved a cryptocurrency ETP, Amun Crypto Basket Index (HODL) which began trading today. The crypto ETP is offered by Amun AG, a fintech company based in Switzerland. It began trading under the ticker symbol HODL on the SIX Swiss Exchange, which is one of the largest exchanges in Europe. The Amun Crypto Basket index has nearly half of its assets invested in Bitcoin, and the remaining half is comprised of XRP, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
This marks the world’s first approved crypto ETF-like security trading on a major exchange. In the past, there have been numerous attempts to bring crypto ETFs to the public but all of them have been rejected by regulators.
This new ETP will allow retail investors and institutions to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency sector, even institutions that are restricted to only investing in securities.
What is an ETP?
ETP is short for Exchange Traded Products. An ETP is a derivative investment that is traded on securities exchanges, valued on the basis of another investment instrument, such as a commodity or a currency. In the case of Amun Crypto Basket Index (HODL), the value will be based on cryptocurrencies.
Crypto Sector
Along with the new crypto ETP, the cryptocurrency industry has seen a lot of activity lately with a number of new projects helping the ecosystem to make cryptocurrency more useful. The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, announced the upcoming launch of Bitcoin futures on their platform Bakkt. This will enable institutions to invest in digital assets in a regulated market infrastructure. According to Bakkt, their Bitcoin futures contract is set to launch in January 2019. Also the world’s first Bitcoin friendly shopping app Bitplaza recently launched on the app store. Bitplaza lets users spend Bitcoin for physical goods, demonstrating the coin as real currency. By using the app, anyone can do all their shopping with Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency is also seeing adoption in many other ways. As of November 2018, the number of Bitcoin ATMs around the world has grown to over 3,930 ATMs compared to 1,820 ATMs the previous year. The cryptocurrency industry overall is growing at a rapid pace despite the bearish trend in cryptocurrency prices. Companies continue to build new technology in efforts to make the use of cryptocurrency easier and safer, setting a foundation for crypto to thrive going forward.
