Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) is launching two Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which will allow Canadian investors to take both long and short positions on the digital asset.
Dubbed BetaPro Bitcoin ETF (HBIT) and BetaPro Inverse Bitcoin ETF (BITI), both these ETFs will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday. Along with the Canadian dollar instrument, the company will list two US dollar instruments of the ETFs under the tickers HBIT.U and BITI.U.
“There is a lot of interest in bitcoin in the last year, but it is an asset class that has historically been very volatile and complex for investors to get access to, especially when compared to buying ETFs,” said Horizons ETFs President and CEO, Steve Hawkins.
“HBIT and BITI provide ETF options with daily Liquidity that allows investors to take either a long or short position on the asset class.”
HBIT will levy a management fee of 1 percent for the investors, while the inverse fund will charge 1.45 percent.
The Regulated Crypto Investments' Hub
Canada has quickly become the hub of regulated cryptocurrency investment products after the country first approved its Bitcoin ETF, which is witnessing a massive demand from retail investors.
On the contrary, the neighboring United States is still assessing whether to allow Bitcoin ETFs or not. The US arm of Horizon sought the Securities and Exchange Commission’s permission a few years ago to launch a fund with around 20 percent exposure to cryptocurrencies.
“We know that there are polarizing views on bitcoin, and as a result, there are investors with a high degree of conviction on both the bullish and bearish cases for the asset class,” Hawkins added. “In launching HBIT and BITI, our goal is to provide investment tools that allow investors to get liquid access to the returns of bitcoin futures with the ability to go long or short the asset class, based on their outlook and conviction.”
