21Shares has launched a Nasdaq listed physical Bitcoin ETP which offers a new opportunity for direct Bitcoin investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On October 12, the company announced that the new 21Shares Bitcoin ETP has begun trading on the global stock market Nasdaq Dubai under the ticker ABTC.
Hany Rashwan, co-founder and CEO of 21Shares, told Cointelegraph that the recently launched cryptocurrency product is physically backed, which implies that it is completely collateralized by the underlying Bitcoin assets they follow with 1:1 leverage. To guarantee greater security, the underlying crypto assets of the ETP are deposited in an offline wallet, he said.
A significant turning point in 21Shares’ international development is the company’s entry into the UAE. Twelve exchanges, including SIX Swiss Exchange, Deutsche Börse, EuroNext, BXSwiss, Wiener Börse, Quotrix, Gettex, Börse Stuttgart, Börse München, Börse Düsseldorf, and Nasdaq Dubai, list 21Shares’ ETPs, in addition to Nasdaq Dubai.
Rashwan claims that the two main European markets for 21Shares’ crypto ETPs are now Germany and Switzerland. Rashwan added that the UAE received more cryptocurrency than any other Arab nation in 2021. “In terms of MENA, we predict considerable interest given the crypto-friendly nature of the area.”
The CEO added that since India decided to tax cryptocurrency profits at a 30% rate, the MENA area has emerged as a hub for major cryptocurrency exchanges like FTX, Kraken, and Blockchain.com, drawing even more investors. The level of interest and crypto-friendliness in the Middle East makes it an ideal market for 21Shares to expand into, according to Rashwan.
There are other companies that have listed cryptocurrency investment products on Nasdaq Dubai besides 21Shares. An ETP for Bitcoin was also listed on Nasdaq Dubai by Canadian investment fund manager 3iQ last year. The product provides tangential exposure to Bitcoin and is traded under the ticker QBTC. The CEO insisted, “The 3iQ Bitcoin Fund is not physically-backed.”
The announcement follows Sherif El-August Haddad’s appointment by 21.co, the new parent company of 21Shares, as CEO of the MENA region. El-Haddad, a former director of asset management at Al Mal Asset Management in Dubai, had previously tried to introduce a physically-backed cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund there, but his plan had been rejected.
