Key Takeaways
- • BIT Asset Management, the Zurich-based arm of Singapore's BIT Group (formerly Matrixport), launched Switzerland's first bitcoin ETF after Swiss regulator Finma approved the product, according to finews.asia.
- • The bitcoin-only fund will trade on SIX, with Amina Bank as custodian and PvB Pernet von Ballmoos as fund administrator, and is open to retail investors through eligible custodian banks.
- • CEO Dominik Oggenfuss targets more than CHF 1 billion in assets within six to nine months, with a first SIX trading day hoped for around mid-November 2026.
- • BIT Asset Management manages around 6 billion, and the new product is aimed mainly at private banks, pension funds and family offices.
- • Finma attached several warnings to the product, which Oggenfuss said he welcomed as consistent with fiduciary duty.
Summary
Swiss regulator Finma approved Switzerland's first bitcoin exchange-traded fund on a Tuesday but did not disclose the issuer. According to finews.asia, the firm behind the product is BIT Asset Management, the Zurich-based arm of Singapore's BIT Group, formerly known as Matrixport. The company confirmed its role in a press release the following morning.
The launch builds on BIT's existing crypto business. Two years ago BIT took over the asset management activities of Crypto Finance, which in 2021 launched the Crypto Market Index Fund, the first crypto fund under Swiss law for qualified investors. That fund is open only to institutional investors, holds the ten largest cryptocurrencies with bitcoin making up the bulk, and has drawn interest mainly from family offices. BIT Asset Management manages around 6 billion, of which a very small part sits in that fund.
The new bitcoin ETF differs in being bitcoin-only and open to retail investors who are classified as eligible by their custodian bank and can trade on SIX. Amina Bank serves as custodian and PvB Pernet von Ballmoos as administrator. Investors holding bitcoin on a regulated platform can transfer it in kind to the custodian and receive fund units, with no minimum threshold, according to Oggenfuss. He positioned the product as a fully Swiss-made, end-to-end offering, citing Swiss regulatory oversight and the transparency of asset locations as key advantages over BlackRock's U.S. bitcoin ETF, which launched almost three years ago. He also argued that ETFs, as fund structures, differ from exchange-traded products, which he described as debt instruments carrying issuer risk.
Oggenfuss named private banks, pension funds and family offices as target clients, and said Swiss third-pillar retirement plans will increasingly need digital assets. He cited a small allocation as having stabilized portfolios during geopolitical shocks earlier in the year. He said the fund will be competitively priced against international providers, with sales events planned in Geneva and Zurich. Asian clients may be interested once the product is cleared from a regulatory and compliance standpoint, he said.
Oggenfuss hopes for a first trading day on SIX around mid-November, subject to operational implementation by partners, with a bell-ringing ceremony to follow. He expects the fund to reach CHF 1 billion within six to nine months, depending on market conditions. Finma's release attached several warnings to the product, which Oggenfuss said he welcomed.
The launch builds on BIT's existing crypto business. Two years ago BIT took over the asset management activities of Crypto Finance, which in 2021 launched the Crypto Market Index Fund, the first crypto fund under Swiss law for qualified investors. That fund is open only to institutional investors, holds the ten largest cryptocurrencies with bitcoin making up the bulk, and has drawn interest mainly from family offices. BIT Asset Management manages around 6 billion, of which a very small part sits in that fund.
The new bitcoin ETF differs in being bitcoin-only and open to retail investors who are classified as eligible by their custodian bank and can trade on SIX. Amina Bank serves as custodian and PvB Pernet von Ballmoos as administrator. Investors holding bitcoin on a regulated platform can transfer it in kind to the custodian and receive fund units, with no minimum threshold, according to Oggenfuss. He positioned the product as a fully Swiss-made, end-to-end offering, citing Swiss regulatory oversight and the transparency of asset locations as key advantages over BlackRock's U.S. bitcoin ETF, which launched almost three years ago. He also argued that ETFs, as fund structures, differ from exchange-traded products, which he described as debt instruments carrying issuer risk.
Oggenfuss named private banks, pension funds and family offices as target clients, and said Swiss third-pillar retirement plans will increasingly need digital assets. He cited a small allocation as having stabilized portfolios during geopolitical shocks earlier in the year. He said the fund will be competitively priced against international providers, with sales events planned in Geneva and Zurich. Asian clients may be interested once the product is cleared from a regulatory and compliance standpoint, he said.
Oggenfuss hopes for a first trading day on SIX around mid-November, subject to operational implementation by partners, with a bell-ringing ceremony to follow. He expects the fund to reach CHF 1 billion within six to nine months, depending on market conditions. Finma's release attached several warnings to the product, which Oggenfuss said he welcomed.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.