Melanion Capital: the first Bitcoin ETF on Borsa Italiana

PRESS RELEASE 

Melanion Capital, the Paris-based independent alternative investment management firm, announced that the proprietary Melanion BTC Equities Universe UCITS ETF was listed on June 7 by the Italian stock exchange (Borsa Italiana) under the name BTC IM and ISIN FR0014002IH8.

A Bitcoin ETF arrives on Borsa Italiana for the first time

With this launch, Italian investors will for the first time be able to gain exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem through a UCITS ETF.

BTC IM has been accepted by the “Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa” (CONSOB) and its purpose is to track the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index, a customized basket of 30 European or American stocks, selected according to their exposure to the Bitcoin price.

Cyril Sabbagh, managing director at Melanion Capital, explained:

“Investor demand for exposure to Bitcoin is huge and growing, but the lack of a regulated UCITS product has been a deterrent for many – until now. We believe the growth of the Italian ETF industry coupled with strong demand from Italian investors will play a prominent role in our expansion in Europe”.

Jad Comair, CEO of Melanion Capital, added:

“We are delighted to be able to be the first company able to provide, to the entire European investment community, a way to invest in the Bitcoin transaction narrative, through a regulated financial instrument that investment funds can offer to their clients – this is but the natural step towards public adoption of new realities”.

How the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index is composed

The Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index consists of a set of companies with high exposure to Bitcoin, weighted proportionally. Possible candidates are selected on the basis of their liquidity and can make up, at most, 10% in weight of the basket. This ensures that the index is diversified, replicable and scalable.

Melanion expects BTC IM to achieve a high correlation with the performance of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, no minimum threshold for correlation has been established and there is no guarantee that the index will follow the price of Bitcoin itself, either up or down.

The Melanion BTC Equities Universe UCITS ETF was initially released on Paris Euronext and now also on Borsa Italiana with a TER of 0.75%.

This listing is the first of many steps Melanion Capital intends to take to expand within the European community and to provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin, with the vision of BTC and other cryptocurrencies being accepted as a useful and efficient part of a new and larger financial ecosystem.