The first bitcoin-traded fund (ETF) to receive regulatory approval in Latin America is reportedly set to go online in Brazil this summer.
QR Capital, parent company of the Brazilian blockchain asset management company QR Asset Management, announced the launch of the ETF today and indicated that the product would be listed on the Brazilian stock exchange B3. According to a translated report by CNN Brasil, it should be listed by June and will be referenced in the bitcoin index of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures contracts.
“QR Asset Management received a guarantee from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its bitcoin ETF on B3”, informs the report. “The primary supply of assets, estimated at around 500 million [real], will be for qualified investors. “
The announcement comes at a time when more institutional investors are investing in bitcoins, often allocating their treasury reserve assets to BTC, for fear that US dollar inflation is eating away at their stocks. This, in conjunction with a continuing price hike, growing retail adoption and more Bitcoin functionality being built, are all combined to remove the risk of bitcoin as an asset – a trend that is clearly driving the growth of bitcoin ETFs.
North America saw its first ETF release approved by regulatory bodies in Canada last month, which promptly broke records in its first week. Meanwhile, several companies are trying to launch an ETF bitcoin for the U.S. With Brazil’s latest announcement increasing momentum underway, it appears that a U.S.-approved ETF bitcoin is imminent.