Brazil’s First ETF To Raise $90 Million To Purchase BTC

Brazil’s first ETF aims to raise up to $90 million in order to buy BTC while waiting for the official launch of the product as we can see more in our latest Bitcoin news today.

Following the recent approval of QR Capital’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, Brazil’s first ETF is looking to raise $90 million to purchase the BTC needed before trading starts. QR Capital made history after the country’s Brazil Securities and Exchange Commission approved its application for an ETF and become the first of its kind in Latin America. The 100% BTC ETF would trade on the Sao Paolo stock exchange under the ticker QBTC 11.

While trading is scheduled to start in June 2021, the company behind the ETF stated that it was aiming to raise up to 500 million BRL or $90 million USD, to purchase BTC according to the reports. In the meantime, Fernando Carvalho who is the founder and CEO of QR Capital said that the company is looking to leverage about four million people who are getting access to the stock exchange. For Carvalho, the figure will mean that the ETF will see a surge in demand when the trading starts.

The QR Capital head said that the company will purchase BTC in overseas regulated exchanges and the ETF will use CME Group’s CF Bitcoin Real Time Index to calculate the prices. Carvalho stated that Coinbase Custody and BitGo will act as custodians for the ETF. Blockchain consultant Annemarie Tierney who is also a former SEC regulator said that it was quite ironic that the US-based companies are custody to a Brazilian ETF while US regulators haven’t approved any.

Tierney added that with more BTC ETFs getting the greenlight in different jurisdictions, US companies will seek similar approval but will have plenty of disadvantages. The VanEck BTC ETF filing awaits a new decision from US Securities and Exchange Commission. Carvalho also thinks that the emergence of BTC ETFs will allow individuals to gain entry into the legacy markets and will allow them to invest in the cryptocurrency without having to worry about their private keys. The CEO also noted that there’s a difference between 2017 and now in the demand for bitcoin, attributing the current growth to increased institutional interest.