Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. It is a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Transactions are verified and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
Bitcoin has historically performed as an uncorrelated asset, meaning its price movements appear unrelated to movements in traditional markets in stocks and bonds. As a result, investing in Bitcoin may offer benefits to a diversified portfolio, provided the allocation is sized correctly (for example 1% to 5% of portfolio value).
In addition to being a store of value, a successful currency needs to meet standards of scarcity, divisibility, transferability and utility. Bitcoin’s value comes from the fact that it meets and often surpasses fiat currencies in delivering these qualities. Bitcoin is actually a very hard currency, with the total supply defined and limited within its codebase unlike fiat currencies where governments can increase the money supply at will. Bitcoin’s divisibility is clear with the Satoshi being the smallest unit. At 8 decimal places, the Satoshi is a one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin. Bitcoins transferability is one of its major achievements as it bypasses the traditional banking systems and its limitations.
Bitcoin Mining is the way new Bitcoins are added to the available supply. It involves “miners” solving very complex mathematical problems and earning Bitcoin as a result. There is a finite amount of Bitcoin supply. The protocol limits the total supply to 21 million Bitcoin making it a very hard currency compared to fiat currencies controlled by central banks. Today, there are just over 18 million in circulation
If you want to purchase, store and spend Bitcoin, a wallet is essential and managing the security of your wallet(s) is necessary to ensure you do not lose your Bitcoin. One of the main advantages of investing in a cryptocurrency ETP such as BTCE is that it is physically backed by Bitcoin (and is even interchangeable with Bitcoin) but one can buy and sell it on a regulated exchange like stocks or shares. It is stored safely in your account at your stock broker and you don’t need to engage in the cryptic world of trading Bitcoin itself.
While Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have revolutionised the way we think about traditional currencies and payments, buying and storing Bitcoin is not necessarily simple and straightforward, leaving some investors and users out of pocket or sceptical about investing. Some of the current challenges are:
Securities are now available that can provide access to the powerful diversification and return potential of Bitcoin in a regulated, transparent and exchange-listed structure. These products allow the investor to trade Bitcoin with a product that is as easy to trade as any share or ETF.
With investor’s cognizant of the pitfalls of traditional Bitcoin investing, issuers such as ETC Group have created new Bitcoin exchange traded products (ETP) to allow investors to trade Bitcoin on regulated securities exchanges, through their regular broker or bank. This provides safer and more convenient way to gain exposure to Bitcoin. ETC Group has now launched BTCetc Bitcoin Exchange Traded Crypto (Ticker: BTCE).
BTCE is the first Bitcoin ETP available on Germany's largest stock exchange, and is also the world's first centrally cleared cryptocurrency ETP. The BTCE Prospectus was approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). The product enables investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin, without the need for the investor to understand Blockchain technology and wallets. Because BTCE is a security, it can be used in the same way that stocks and bonds are used within your brokerage account - not only as collateral, but also for yield enhancement via transactions such as stock loan and repo. The Issuer keeps the Bitcoin backing the product at a reputable, safe, regulated and insured depositary, namely BitGo Trust Company. BTCE is issued by ETC Group and marketed and distributed by HANetf.
Yes, for every unit of BTCE there is a pre-defined amount of Bitcoin stored in secured custody (1 BTCE = 0.001 Bitcoin on the issue date of BTCE, then this value decays at the rate of 2% per year, which represents the management fee). Deposits in custody can be verified at any given moment by checking the wallet balance on the Bitcoin blockchain itself.
Investing in BTCE is as simple as buying shares through your broker or bank. Unlike investing directly in Bitcoin, there +44(0) 203 794 1800 [email protected] 05 is no need to engage with the technical challenges of setting up a cryptocurrency wallet to store Bitcoin. Your units of BTCE are safely held with your broker or bank, thus removing the risk of losing your investment due to a lack of knowledge of how cryptographic keys wort
BTCE is traded on XETRA, one of the largest exchanges in Europe. As Deutsche Börse´s XETRA is a regulated exchange, this means that investors can trade with confidence knowing that all market participants are strictly vetted and carefully monitored to prevent market abuse. The alternative is to buy Bitcoin on cryptocurrency exchanges, many of which are unregulated or do not have as strict security and compliance standards.
The issuer has partnered with world-class liquidity providers (LPs) and authorised participants (APs) to ensure there is ample liquidity, resulting in tight spreads on-exchange and the ability to create or redeem units of BTCE on the primary market
BTCE can also be redeemed directly for Bitcoin. As an additional layer of protection for investors, every redemption transaction must be confirmed by the issuer and a reputable third-party administrator to ensure that no Bitcoin can be misappropriated due to misconduct or negligence on of the part of the issuer.
The issuer stores the Bitcoin with BitGo Trust Company, a secure, regulated custodian purpose built for holding digital assets. Strict KYC and AML standards ensure that the provenance of all cryptocurrency in custody has been vetted.
Bitcoin can be used to pay for goods and services electronically around the world. BTCE cannot be used to pay for goods and services as it is an investment tool, unless BTCE is redeemed for physical Bitcoin.
No price source is needed as each unit of BTCE represents precisely 0.001 Bitcoin (at issuance date and before fees – see below).
The issuer, ETC Issuance GmbH, stores all Bitcoin at BitGo Trust Company, a leader in digital assets safe custody. Deposits are insured by Lloyds of London against hacking and white-collar crime up to the value of $100 million. BitGo is a regulated trust and all Bitcoin is stored air-gapped in cold storage in their vaults.
The issuer has partnered with world-class liquidity providers (LPs) and authorised participants (APs) to ensure that ample liquidity is available on exchange (secondary market) and that investors can additionally create or redeem units of BTCE on the primary market as well.
BTCE is a regulated financial instrument under MiFID II and is regulated in each jurisdiction where it is traded - for example in Germany it trades on Deutsche Boerse’s XETRA exchange and is regulated by BaFin (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority). Bitcoin itself remains mostly unregulated in most jurisdictions
BTCE has been engineered with the security of the bondholder in mind. When units of BTCE are created, the equivalence in Bitcoin is stored at a secure, regulated and insured custodian. Any transactions related to the creation and redemption processes are verified by an independent administrator. The administrator can only be replaced with the approval of the trustee. The trustee holds security interest over the assets in custody and in the highly unlikely case of Issuer default, would step in to make sure bondholder obligations are settled in a timely and orderly fashion.
You can buy and sell BTCE on exchange through your regular brokerage account.
Yes. Via the network of Authorised Participants. Size restrictions apply to the amount of Bitcoin required. Investors would need to have an account open at one of the APs and would need to have undergone KYC/AML on the legal entity investing and on the Bitcoin itself.
To purchase BTCE on exchange through your broker, you would need to buy a minimum of 1 unit of BTCE which equates in value to a predefined amount of a Bitcoin. For purchasing BTCE using Bitcoin via an Authorised Participant, a minimum fee may apply.
BTCE is currently listed on Deutsche Börse´s electronic trading system XETRA and it has been passported for sale to the UK and Italy, and Austria
The commission fee for trading is the fee charged by your broker or bank. The yearly management fee of BTCE is 2%.
The management fee is charged from the value (cryptocurrency entitlement) of the BTCE bond every day. This means that the value (assuming the prices of Bitcoin and Euro are unchanged) decreases by 1/360 of 2% (= 0,005556%) per day. If you keep the bonds for one year, the theoretical value has decreased by 2% excluding changes in the price of Bitcoin or Euro.
United within ETC Group is one of the world’s largest electronic market makers, two London-based FCA-regulated brokers and a team of experienced financial services professionals all bringing network and know-how to this, the first of many innovative exchange traded products.
In the traditional sense, ETC stands for “exchange traded commodity”. We believe in the future of digital assets, and hence branded our venture under the ETC Group brand, in our case the definition ETC reimagining the traditional acronym and turning it into “exchange traded cryptocurrency”.