On December 31, six bitcoin-based mutual funds will make their debut in the Israeli market, according to Calcalist.
The publication reports that the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) approved the products last week.
To track the price of the underlying asset, the funds will rely on indices from BlackRock, S&P, and the Chicago Stock Exchange. Only one issuer will employ active management in an attempt to outperform the returns of the leading cryptocurrency.
The launch of these products is the culmination of two years of lobbying and persistent requests to the ISA, as noted by Calcalist. Representatives of the issuers informed journalists that the regulatory shift occurred in January, following the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
“Investment houses have been pleading for over a year to approve the funds and began sending out prospectuses in the summer. But the regulator has its own pace and must check the details,” one of the publication’s sources stated.
According to him, the delay in approval is “frustrating” as it prevented investors from profiting from the cryptocurrency rally. Since the beginning of the year, digital gold has appreciated by approximately 120%.
Earlier reports indicated that the volume of assets under management in American bitcoin ETFs surpassed the amount of the first cryptocurrency held by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Despite recent outflows, as of December 23, the products accumulated digital gold worth $35.83 billion.