The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is all set to list Bitcoin and Ethereum-based exchange-traded products (ETPs) following approval from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Earlier in March, the LSE announced that applications for cryptocurrency ETPs would be accepted until April 8, 2024. As per the LSE, should the ETPs secure regulatory approval, their listings will go live in May.
Having received approval from the FCA, the WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin ETP (WBTC) and the WisdomTree Physical Ethereum ETP (WETH) will begin trading on May 28, 2024. It is worth noting that the ETPs will be accessible exclusively to professional and institutional investors. The restriction follows the 2021 ban on retail customers trading crypto derivatives in the UK.
To gain approval from the FCA, crypto ETPs must be physically backed, non-leveraged, and denominated in Bitcoin or Ethereum. Issuers must also collaborate with an Anti-Money Laundering licensed custodian in the US, the UK, or the EU and maintain the underlying assets in cold storage.
WisdomTree’s ETP listing follows a global trend where Hong Kong, the US, and other nations have embraced spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, though the ETFs released in the US were the only ones that gained significant traction since their release in January.
