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Swiss regulator FINMA approves the country’s first retail ETF that holds bitcoin directly
Summary
Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA said on Tuesday it has, for the first time, approved an exchange-traded retail fund that invests directly in bitcoin, classed as an “other fund for alternative investments” with a specific risk under Swiss law.
FINMA said it granted an exemption from the usual risk-diversification rules because bitcoin has a long trading history and particularly high trading volume compared with other cryptocurrencies, and that other fund providers have also submitted or announced bitcoin ETF applications.
FINMA itself did not name the fund or its issuer, but on Thursday, Oct. 22, BIT Asset Management said its Bitcoin Fund ETF (BBIT), which holds bitcoin directly, is expected to begin trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in November, with its public offering limited to Switzerland, Cointelegraph reported.
FINMA stressed that bitcoin remains highly risky even through an approved ETF and that investors could lose a significant part of their capital.
Updates
- Update, : Oct. 20: Cointelegraph also reported the approval, noting the announcement gave no launch date and that FINMA first authorized a crypto fund for qualified investors in 2021.
- Update, : Oct. 20: Decrypt and Bitcoin Magazine also reported the approval. Decrypt said FINMA classified the fund as an “other fund for alternative investments” and that its release names neither the fund nor its issuer and gives no launch date.
- Update, : Oct. 22: BIT Asset Management said its Bitcoin Fund ETF (BBIT) is expected to start trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in November and is approved for public offering in Switzerland only, Cointelegraph reported. The firm said the fund is a Swiss collective investment scheme whose assets are ring-fenced for investors, unlike the exchange-traded products common in Europe, which it called debt instruments that carry issuer risk.
Key facts
- FINMA said supervised institutions must mitigate operational and custody risks as set out in its Jan. 12, 2026 guidance, apply FinSA rules of conduct at the point of sale, and clearly explain the risks in fund documents.
- FINMA said it had already authorized a fund for qualified investors investing mainly in a basket of cryptocurrencies in 2021.
- The Block noted that SIX Swiss Exchange has listed bitcoin exchange-traded products for years, but that those ETPs are debt securities, whereas the new ETF falls under Swiss fund law.
- BIT Asset Management said its Bitcoin Fund ETF (BBIT) is expected to begin trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in November, approved for public offering in Switzerland only.
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