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Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency investment platform based in Vienna, has launched its first exchange-traded cryptocurrency note (ETC). The note will track the price of bitcoin and be traded in euros.
- Bitpanda, which has a valuation of $4.1 billion, said the Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is listed on Deutsche Boerse’s Xetra market. It plans to add more crypto ETC products in 2022.
- The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is physically backed by bitcoin kept in cold storage with a regulated custodian. The product is targeting investors looking to “diversify their portfolio and get access to the world of cryptocurrencies,” Bitpanda said.
- This year has been characterized by the introduction of physical cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded products in many jurisdictions, though not in the U.S. Xetra has hosted the introduction of products from 21 Shares, ETC Group and WisdomTree.
- Bitpanda’s first ETC is another diversification move for the company founded as a bitcoin exchange in 2014. It has since expanded beyond crypto to offer trading in stocks, precious metals and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a mobile app. It has more than 3 million users.
- “Issuing an entirely EU [European Union] based Bitcoin ETC with euro as base currency, we are able to offer exposure to an alternative asset class that we feel is ripe for opportunity in the current market environment,” CEO Eric Demuth said in a press release.
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