New.Bitcoin.com has confirmed that the exchange-traded product tracking an index of five leading cryptocurrencies will start trading on Switzerland’s principal stock exchange on Nov. 21. The exchange has also confirmed that this product is not an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The country’s financial regulator, Finma, explains the differences.
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Differences Between ETPs and ETFs
The news of the cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP) by Zug-based Amun AG having been approved by Switzerland’s principal stock exchange, Six Swiss Exchange, spread throughout the crypto community over the weekend.
The product tracks an index of five major cryptocurrencies: BTC, XRP, ETH, BCH, and LTC. While Amun’s website refers to this product only as an ETP, some believe that it is an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
ETPs and ETFs are two different products, listed under different categories on Six Swiss Exchange.
A spokesperson from Finma, Switzerland’s financial regulator, told news.Bitcoin.com:
It is important to separate ETPs from ETFs, as ETPs are not subject to the Collective Investment Schemes Act (Cisa) and are therefore not supervised by Finma.
Noting that ETFs “are funds that are traded on an exchange and normally track the performance of an index,” he emphasized that “In Switzerland, these products are subject to the Cisa.”
A spokesperson from Six Swiss Exchange also confirmed to news.Bitcoin.com that Amun Crypto is an ETP, not an ETF, adding that the product will start trading on Wednesday, Nov. 21. The exchange clarified:
ETPs are collateralized, noninterest-earning bearer debt securities which replicate an underlying [asset] (generally from the commodities sector), either on a regular or leveraged basis. Like ETFs, they trade in a multi market-making segment, but in legal terms they are not funds.
