Canadian asset manager set to offer trading of bitcoin fund in coming months

Canadian asset manager 3iQ has filed a prospectus for a regulated fund tied to bitcoin, the firm announced Thursday morning. 

The closed-ended fund would offer investors "exposure to the digital currency bitcoin and the daily price movements of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin," a press release noted. It could list on the Toronto Stock Exchange and commence trading as soon as the end of 2019, a spokesperson told CoinDesk. 

The new product joins a slew of funds that track the nascent commodity, including Grayscale's GBTC, which trades over-the-counter and mimics some of the functionalities of an exchange-traded fund. In Europe, Amun offers several exchange-traded products tied to cryptocurrencies that are similar to the 3iQ product. 

As for the 3iQ's new product, it has been in the works for several years, according to the firm. The companies have been working on the launch in tandem with the Ontario Securities Commission for three years. 

In October, 3IQ announced that it had received "favourable ruling" from the Ontario Securities Commission for its bitcoin fund.