South Korean bank plans to launch crypto ETF
The bank also plans to roll out a crypto-themed equity fund
Kookmin Bank (KB), the largest local bank in South Korea, is planning to offer a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) and futures products to retail investors.
The South Korean bank has formed a Digital Asset Management Preparatory Committee, which will determine product and strategy capabilities regarding digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI) investment funds.
The committee will also assess risk and compliance issues surrounding these funds. In addition, KB plans to roll out a crypto-themed equity fund.
Honggun Kim, head of index quant management at KB, said: “We will launch a virtual asset-themed equity fund. We plan to publish periodicals as well.”
Plans to offer numerous funds
KB also plans to launch a crypto investment index fund, as well as a fund that utilises an outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) in order to provide guarantees on principal investments. Furthermore, the OCIO fund may be used to leverage retirement pensions.
The OCIOs that are being considered are Grayscale and Fidelity. Grayscale is the manager of the largest bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) funds in the world, while Fidelity has recently launched its first bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded product (ETP) in Europe.
The Fidelity Physical Bitcoin ETP is listed on the Deutsche Börse Xetra under the ticker FBTC, and will come to the SIX Swiss Exchange some time in the next few months.
Rize launches crypto ETF
In November 2021, Rize ETF launched Europe’s first specialist thematic ETF which focuses on the digital payment economy and the crypto payment economy.
The ETF is named the Rize Digital Payments Economy undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) ETF (PMNT). The ETF is designed to give exposure to investors and companies that stand to benefit from the structural transition away from traditional cash payments to digital wallets, digital payments and cryptocurrencies.
The PMNT is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse, Borsa Italiana and SIX Swiss Exchange.
