- Applications for trading will begin on April 8.
- The move comes when the UK focuses on becoming a crypto hub.
The London Stock Exchange has announced that it will roll out a market for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded notes (ETN) on May 28. The exchange said that applications for trading the crypto ETNs will start on April 8.
The stock exchange said the ETN market will be subject to approval by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The announcement reads in part:
“Subject to the approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) of the base prospectuses, which will be required to list Crypto ETNs on the Main Market and also to the Official List of the FCA, the Exchange is proposing that the first day of admission to trading of those Crypto ETN securities will be Tuesday 28 May 2024.”
See Related: UK Government Adopts Stablecoins As Legal Tender
Making UK A Crypto-Friendly Hub
The provision for the ETN products comes when the UK endears itself as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, despite an initial lukewarm reception of the asset class. In March, FCA hinted that it was ready to create a listed market segment for ETN products. Such products were to be provided to professional investors only.
In the same month, the London Stock Exchange said it would start accepting Bitcoin and Ether ETNs in the second quarter. This came weeks after the US approved its first spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw significant inflows. Nonetheless, the UK has leaned more towards regulation of digital assets following a string of market events such as the FTX crash. Still, the U.K. Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith has in the past insisted that the FTX crash is not a reason to change course in making the UK a center for the crypto industry.
