One of the biggest players in the banking industry in Spain is in the process of setting up the first BTC Exchange-Traded Fund of its kind in the country.
According to information from the officials of the bank, work has begun on the product, and it is driven mainly by the demands of their customers.
It is also worthy of mention that though the institution is looking to launch the product in no time, it has not been registered with the Spanish Securities regulatory agencies, CNMV. Moreover, the Chairman of the Board of Executive of the Bank, Ana Botin, did not reveal the timeline for the launching of the ETF.
This new move by Santander is quite a game-changer for the industry as a huge number of the financial asset managers in Spain are willing to risk an entry into the crypto space. Most of them have their reluctance stemmed from the lack of clarity on the regulations around the ecosystem.
This came from the disclosure of the plans of the Central Bank of Spain for the crypto ecosystem for the next three years to the financial institutions. In the memo, the financial institutions were asked to elaborate on the relationships they had with the crypto service providers and how much exposure they had to crypto.
Also, the banking regulator asked the institutions to unveil the direction of their involvement with crypto either in tokens issuance, trading, payment services, or crypto custody service provision.
With the value of the crypto market increasing rapidly, Santander is holding on to their launch of an ETF to bag further growth and value. The bank is currently ranked the third best bank in Western Europe per TSR – Total Shareholder Return after recording a TSR of 12.1% within April and July 2021.
Currently, in Spain, it is only BBVA that offers services around BTC trading and custody services through its Swiss subsidiary, where crypto legislation is clearer and more advanced.
Currently, crypto enthusiasts will keep tabs on the impact of an ETF on the movement of the BTC price. The Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States has approved its first BTC Exchange-Traded Fund, which has to have a very positive impact on the price of the asset.
The product has been a good catalyst for the entire crypto market after the Chinese government caused huge pressure and volatility with its regulatory crackdown.