Iconic Funds to Issue First Exchange Traded Product for Bitcoin on a Regulated Market

Iconic Funds, a global crypto asset management firm, has said it will issue an exchange-traded note (ETN) for Bitcoin of up to 100,000,000 notes, tracking the NYSE Bitcoin Index (Ticker: NYXBT). The notes may be subscribed to by qualified investors with both EUR and BTC, with a minimum subscription size of 100,000 Notes and an issue price of €1,00 per Note. Iconic Funds will apply for admission to trading of the notes on the regulated market of the Luxembourg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges in Q4 2019. The notes will have a German ISIN.

This ETN on Bitcoin is the world’s first genuine exchange-traded product with a crypto asset as the underlying on a regulated, major global exchange.

The issuer will hold BTC, more commonly known as Bitcoin, and store them with institutional-grade custodians, such as Coinbase Custody, to meet its payment obligations under the ETN. The ETN will be available for trade to retail and institutional investors. The ETN does not have a fixed maturity date. However, the Issuer has the option to call the ETN, and investors have the option to put the ETN on a quarterly basis. Iconic will charge a 0.5% quarterly management fee for its services managing the ETN.

Bitcoin, the world’s leading crypto asset, is seen by many as an asymmetric, non-correlated, digital store of value with investors likening it to “digital gold.” Leading German financial institution, Bayerische Landesbank recently published a report concluding that due to the stock-to-flow ratio of Bitcoin, it “was conceived to be an even harder asset than gold.” Bitcoin has been one of the best-performing assets of the past decade, realizing a 5-year and year-to-date return on investment of roughly 3,240.9% and 114.1%, respectively, as of Oct. 18, 2019, according to the NYXBT Index.

“Financial Institutions and large investors have been clamoring for a seamless way to invest in Bitcoin and other crypto-assets for many years and, thus far, they have not had an institutional-grade product through which to do so,” said Patrick Lowry, CEO and Managing Partner of Iconic. “While the SEC continually rejects Bitcoin ETP proposals in the U.S., Iconic has developed such investment product in Europe and are excited to offer the first on regulated markets such as the LuxSE and FSE. We look forward to expanding our portfolio of structured products for crypto assets in the near future and have many new issuances planned on the horizon for leading crypto assets.”

Structured as a traditional ETN, the investment product removes the technical complications of investing in and holding Bitcoin for investors. White & Case LLP acted as the Issuer’s counsel, with Iconic’s General Counsel, Liquet Associates, facilitating the entire process. Baader Bank (ISIN: DE0005088108) serves as the settlement, listing, paying and calculation agent for the ETN, with WSB as the tax advisor. Deloitte performed the initial audit of Iconic’s issuing entity.

Iconic is perpetually at the forefront of crypto-asset adoption, has been investing in the space since 2017 and issuing the EU’s first fully-licensed crypto asset index fund earlier in 2019. By issuing the first Bitcoin ETN, Iconic has further cemented itself as one of the top and most innovative asset management firms in the world.

Iconic Funds is the issuer of a series of enterprise-grade crypto asset index funds and exchange-traded products. Structured as a Joint Venture between Iconic Holding and CRYPTOLOGY ASSET GROUP, Iconic Funds’ portfolio of regulated crypto-asset investment products offers investors passive and diversified exposure to the world’s fastest-growing asset class. Iconic Fund’s investment products are issued through the AMaaS ecosystem, leveraging licensed third-party service providers and fund administrators as the group champions traditional asset management best practices. The marriage of state-of-the-art technology, innovative investment products, and uncompromising professionalism places Iconic Funds at the vanguard of crypto asset investing.

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