- The gold-bitcoin ETP will be listed on the Swiss SIX exchange under the ticker BOLD.
- At launch, the weightage will be 18.5% bitcoin and 81.5% gold.
- The fund will be rebalanced monthly based on 360-day historical volatility.
Digital asset management firm ByteTree Asset Management has launched a gold-bitcoin exchange-traded product on the Swiss SIX stock exchange. This makes it the first ETP to offer both gold and bitcoin in a single fund, which is a somewhat unusual combination, given that many crypto investors see bitcoin as the new version of gold and gold itself as obsolete.
The fund will be listed under the ticker BOLD. ByteTree’s Chief Investment Officer Charlie Morris said the firm was “making bitcoin an acceptable asset to hold and bringing gold into the 21st century.” The ETP will also be available in Germany later this year.
The fund will be rebalanced monthly based on 360-day historical volatility, with the asset that is less volatile having more weightage. This is so that the risk-weighted returns are maximized. The weightage to start with will be 18.5% bitcoin and 81.5% gold.
Morris also said that the company’s active rebalancing strategy improved returning by 7–8% annually according to backtests. He also believes that bitcoin is likely to outperform Nasdaq in both bear and bull markets, saying,
“Bond to equity ratio of 60:40 has lost its lustre: BOLD is the new 60:40. Gold’s volatility is now lower than Nasdaq, but the yellow metal has offered better returns than tech stocks, tech stocks are falling because of peak internet. So, bitcoin is likely to outperform Nasdaq in both bull and bear markets.”
Investment Vehicles for Bitcoin Continue to Grow
The number of new investment vehicles has grown sharply in the past 24 months, and often it has been the SIX exchange that has been the launchpad. ETFs and ETPs have been popping up across the world, though the U.S., in particular, is hesitant about launching a spot bitcoin ETF.
Just last week, Australia announced that it would list its first bitcoin ETF sometime this week. It has been delayed, but it will happen nonetheless.
A spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S. would make for a huge push forward for the market, bringing a great deal of exposure to the asset. However, the SEC has been reluctant to approve one, citing investor protection. Grayscale Investment — which has its own spot ETF plans — has asked investors to announce to the SEC that they want an approval.
