SIX Swiss Stock Exchange to Offer Crypto ETP From Next Week

By Chetna Phour

According to the Financial Times, a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product (ETP) will start trading on Switzerland’s SIX Stock Exchange from next week. The ETP will be available for both institutional and retail investors.

SIX Swiss Exchange is based in Zurich. It is the principal stock exchange of Switzerland. Other than stocks other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as stock futures and options are also traded at the SIX Swiss Exchange. After the approval of Exchange Traded Product now the investors will be able to trade the Amun Crypto ETP on the Swiss exchange from next week. The ETP is designed to track an index based on the movements of five leading trading cryptocurrencies.

According to the SIX Swiss Exchange, exchange-traded products are secured bearer debt securities which don’t earn interest that is why they are not subject to the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA). ETPs are not even supervised by FINMA. The SIX Exchange has a different category for the exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-founder of Amun, Hany Rashwan said that

“The crypto exchange-traded product had been constructed to meet the same strict standards required of conventional exchange-traded products widely used by investors.”

He further added, the Amun ETP will give a chance to invest in the digital currencies to the investors who are restricted to invest in securities or do not want to set up custody for digital currencies exposure. The ETP will also provide access to the retail investors who are not able to access the cryptocurrency exchanges because of the local regulatory requirements. According to the website of Amun, Amun Crypto Basket Index

“Tracks performance of the top 5 crypto assets in terms of market cap and liquidity, providing diversified exposure to the crypto space while using its proprietary methodology to effectively manage the volatility associated with less liquid/smaller crypto assets.”

The basket does not include the cryptocurrencies which are tied to fiat currencies such as Tether. The Amun ETP will carry an annual management fee of 2.5%.

Recently SIX the stock exchange exclaimed that its blockchain based platform would replace traditional analog-centric systems in the near future. The head of security and exchange at SIX Swiss Exchange, Thomas Zeed said that

“The existing system could be completely replaced by the digital exchange in about ten years… The moment that brokers, banks, insurance companies, and big asset managers really see the cost advantages, they’ll move relatively quickly.”