BlackRock launches Bitcoin ETP in Europe

The world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, today officially launched its first crypto-ETP in Europe reports Bloomberg.

It is the European counterpart of the successful Bitcoin-Spot ETF from the United States, IBIT, with assets under management of about $48 billion.

Plans for a European Bitcoin product had been known since February. Today, Tuesday, the iShares Bitcoin ETP will be launched under the ticker IB1T on the Xetra exchange and Euronext Paris, and under the ticker BTCN on Euronext Amsterdam.

At launch, BlackRock is temporarily offering a 10 basis point management fee discount, bringing the total expense ratio to just 0.15 percent until the end of this year. Thanks to this discount, IB1T is immediately among the cheapest products on the market. By comparison, Europe's largest crypto-ETP, CoinShares' Bitcoin product worth $1.3 billion, charges a management fee of 0.25 percent.

As in the United States, Coinbase will act as custodian of the Bitcoins that serve to cover the product.

The U.S. predecessor to the iShares Bitcoin ETP is considered a sensation in the financial markets. Indeed, IBIT had the most successful ETF launch ever, and has already attracted over $20 billion more assets than BlackRock's well-known gold ETF, which has been tradable for 20 years.

In Europe, however, the demand for crypto-ETPs is significantly smaller. The total European market for crypto-ETPs is about $13.6 billion, less than the size of IBIT alone.

Unlike in the U.S., where Bitcoin ETFs are regulated mutual funds, European counterparts tend to be exchange-traded debt instruments (ETPs). These are issued through a special legal entity (special purpose vehicle) and are backed one-to-one by physical Bitcoins.