Europe beat out the United States in the launch of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), with London-based Jacobi Asset Management announcing the product's debut on Euronext Amsterdam today.

The offering was billed as the first spot or physical-backed Bitcoin fund, giving investors access to a financial asset that is physically backed by BTC.

The firm initially expected to launch its Bitcoin ETF product last year after getting authorisation from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) in October 2021. The new ETF will trade under the symbol BCOIN, and according to Blockworks, Fidelity Digital Assets will handle the BCOIN ETF's custody.

“This fund has been designed to give institutional investors a simple, secure, and transparent access to Bitcoin whilst addressing their sustainability requirements," Jacobi CEO Martin Bednall informed Decrypt.

He also added that the firm believes “this ETF launch will be the catalyst for institutional adoption of digital assets."

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/europe-first-bitcoin-etf-hits-euronext-amsterdam-exchange

https://decrypt.co/148433/jacob-asset-management-launch-europe-first-bitcoin-etf

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230815404630/en/Jacobi-Asset-Management-lists-Europe%E2%80%99s-first-spot-Bitcoin-ETF-on-Euronext-Amsterdam-with-a-decarbonisation-strategy