The crypto market is rallying this year and it has been a productive year for cryptocurrency-backed financial products. As a result, a Toronto-based investment management firm, 3iQ has launched its flagship Ether-backed asset fund.
3iQ launches Ether-based ETF
The Ether-based Exchange-traded fund (ETF) will list on the TSE offering investors exposure to the fledgling cryptocurrency asset and the daily movement of the cryptocurrency asset’s dollar price. ETH will offer investors exposure to ETH without selling, purchase, or storing the crypto asset themselves. Currently, ETH is the second-largest cryptocurrency operating on the decentralized Ethereum Blockchain for crypto assets and smart contracts. Gemini exchange’s custodial arm, Gemini Custody will hold the coins backing the shares.
In April 2020, the 3iQ managed fund launched a Bitcoin Fund and currently manages and accredited investors’ private fund called 3iQ Global CrypotAsset Fund which invests in Ether, Bitcoin, and Litecoin. Upon launch, the 3iQ Bitcoin Fund listed almost 1.5 million Class A shares selling at $11 per share but the value soon surged. 3iQ said that by October Bitcoin Fund has surpassed the $100 Million market capitalization threshold.
Ether ETF raises $76.5 million on the first day of trading
The Ether fund currently trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange raised around $76.5 million during the initial offering. However, despite a lot of initial fanfare about the fund, things didn’t go as planned. There were concerns from investors that the fund was not available for trading after the opening bell due to delays in closing the IPO prospectus.
Eventually, trading started but two hours late with 345,331 shares of the fund traded for the rest of the day. The fund’s performance was satisfactory hitting an intra-day high of $11.48 and closing the day at $11.02 considering EH was down 0.5% on the day. The 3.5% gain on the ETF is welcome news for investors.
There is the proliferation of cryptocurrency-backed ETFs with this trend expected to continue going forward. In the US the first Bitcoin ETF was launched in September and Hasdex also announced recently plans to launch the “hashdex Nasdaq crypto index.”
