Amun Launches New Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product On Swiss Exchange

Swiss fintech company Amun AG launched a new exchange-traded product (ETP) on Switzerland's Zurich-based SIX Exchange.

This latest launch is the 21Shares Short Bitcoin ETP (SBTC tracker) that claims to track the opposite performance of bitcoin (BTC) and is another way to gain exposure in both directions of the bitcoin price movements.

Bitcoin Trading Remains Directionless

Bitcoin has continued to lose altitude trading at around $8,589 at the time of publication.

In December 2017, the volatile cryptocurrency peaked to $20,000 and has been unable to hit this high again ever since. Despite bitcoin prices remaining bearish and at a low point, a number of fintech firms are continuing to launch products.

Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which is the Swiss government body undertaking financial regulations of the country, has been proactive when it comes to approving crypto products. FINMA has distributed banking and securities dealer licenses to “crypto banks” - SEBA and Sygnum were cleared to operate in the tokenized digital securities sector. The official body issued rules on how to apply anti-money laundering regulations to the banks.

What Is An ETP?

ETP is a type of security whose value comes from other investment vehicles—such as currencies, commodities, or in this case bitcoin—to which it is benchmarked. Its pricing is derived from the assets it holds and trades intra-day.

Amun already manages several crypto ETPs, which are also listed on the SIX exchange. The firm has 11 Crypto ETPs: the Amun Crypto Basket Index ETP SW, Amun Bitcoin SW, Amun Ethereum SW, Amun XRP SW, AMUN Bitcoin Cash ETP SW, Amun Binance ETP SW, Amun Tezos ETP SW, Amun Bitcoin Suisse ETP SW, Amun Bitwise 10 ETP SW and Amun Sygnum Platform Winners Index ETP SW.

The 11 ETPs are listed in U.S. dollars, two in Swiss Francs, and three in Euros on the SIX Swiss exchange. Six of them are also traded in Swiss Francs on BX Swiss exchange.

Amun's managing director Laurent Kssis told Benzinga, “in contrast to shorting, which is usually associated with high lending costs or margin calls, the inverse ETP is reset at the end of each day, and the performance is not rolled over to the next day. It is ideally suited to capture short term price movements of Bitcoin for a short recommended period. With the SBTC tracker, investors can immediately and securely capitalize on falling adverse price movements of the largest and most liquid digital asset.”

“We have worked hard to be in a position to launch the first inverse Bitcoin ETP on a regulated trading venue here in Switzerland,” said Amun CEO Hany Rashwan.

On Tuesday, Grayscale Investments, a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, announced that its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust had become a reporting company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Related Links

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