Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has licensed its first Bitcoin fund allowing, institutional investors to gain exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The fund will be managed by Arrano Capital, the blockchain arm of Venture Smart Asia Limited. It will track the price of BTC through a traditional fund structure.
Regulated investment vehicles for Bitcoin are critical for the industry, which has been struggling to overcome a lack of clarity. Arrano says its entry into the space as an asset manager focused on compliance and best practices for professional efforts, providing security and risk management controls, can increase the adoption of Bitcoin.
As the first digital asset manager to be approved by the SFC in Hong Kong, the company says digital assets are on track to fuel many future investment opportunities supporting a growing appetite.
According to Arrano chief investment officer Avaneesh Acquilla, who was a former senior portfolio manager at Kenetic Capital and former analyst at Och-Ziff Capital, Goldman Sachs and UBS, the Bitcoin fund will meet the demand of institutional investors who are focused on an alternative store of value.
“This fund comes at a pivotal time for Bitcoin. By bridging the gap between the regulated finance and virtual asset world, institutions can gain secure access to Bitcoin via a conventional fund structure. We worked in accordance with the SFC guidelines to create a product that is the first of its kind, meets the needs of investors and complies with the highest regulatory standards.”
BitGo will act as custodian for the fund which is targeting $100 million in its first year.
SFC has granted Venture Smart Asia Limited two approvals. After launching the Bitcoin fund, the company is also planning a second fund later this year.
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