French asset manager wins approval to launch Bitcoin ETF in EU

French asset manager Melanion Capital won regulatory approval to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the price of bitcoin (BTC, +1.13%) for investors across the European Union (EU).

• The Paris-based firm received approval from the French regulators to launch a fund that will track a basket of up to 30 stocks with a 90% correlation to bitcoin's price, according to an emailed statement Wednesday.

• The Melanion BTC Equities Universe Ucits ETF is determined to meet EU standards, known as "undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities" (UCITS), meaning it will be available to investors across the bloc, an EU first for a bitcoin-correlated fund.

• "While there have been many bitcoin-backed exchange-traded products listed in Europe, most European regulators apply a look-through approach, rendering them ineligible for most institutional investors due to their investment restrictions," Melanion said.

• The fund will track stocks such as mining firms Argo Blockchain, Riot Blockchain and Hive Blockchain as well as crypto investment firm Arcane Crypto.

• The weighting of the fund will be determined by German fintech Bita, which provides software for the calculation of financial indexes and quantitative investment strategies.

• The fund will be listed on Euronext in Paris charging a fee of 0.75%.