India’s First Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) On The Anvil

Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC, a joint venture between Cosmea Financial Holdings and Kling Trading India, has joined hands with India INX to establish India’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These will be first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs outside the US.

India INX will be the trading platform, Cosmea Financial Holdings will be the distributor, while Kling Trading will be the technology partner. BSE's international arm, India INX, began trading in 2017 and is India's first international exchange to be established at the GIFT IFSC, as per the press statement.

“Exchange trade products allow trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cryptocurrency exchanges,” says Krishna Mohan Meenavalli, CEO, Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC.

“India INX at GIFT IFSC is looking at exploring the launch of digital asset-based products and has already made an application to IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) under regulatory sandbox," says V. Balasubramaniam, managing director and CEO, India INX.

Cosmea, led by former Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh, has applied for a small finance bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India and is awaiting regulatory approval.

Torus Kling Blockchain aims to raise $1 billion in assets under management in the first two years from customers participating in blockchain-backed products through ETFs and discount certificates. These targets are based on getting regulatory approvals for launching these products, as per the company. Under a sandbox created by the IFSCA, ETF futures are planned to be offered by the end of the current fiscal year, pending IFSCA and other regulatory clearance.

In addition to digital assets, Gift City is introducing large-cap discount certificates of metaverse companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company says these will be the first Asian discount certificates tracking metaverse large-cap stocks in the US and European markets.

Recently, well-known Bitcoin ETF ProShares Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (BITO) saw a 30 per cent drop and became one of the worst performers on the basis of the past two months’ returns after a public itemizing, Bloomberg reported.