Leading provider of institutional staking services Figment Europe and global financial services provider Apex Group have teamed up. They announced today the launch of the first-ever exchange-traded products (ETPs) focused on staking rewards for Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL).
The Figment Ethereum Plus Staking Rewards (ETHF) and Figment Solana Plus Staking Rewards (SOLF) ETPs will debut on the SIX Swiss Exchange on March 12, 2024. These ETPs address a growing demand from institutional investors seeking exposure to the staking rewards offered by proof-of-stake blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.
Traditionally staking these assets requires directly holding the tokens and participating in complex network validation processes. The Figment and Apex ETPs offer a more familiar investment vehicle by allowing institutions to access staking rewards through traditional brokers or banks.
Both ETHF and SOLF will be fully backed by the respective underlying crypto assets i.e. Ethereum and Solana and held by Figment. The ETPs will track an index provided by MarketVector which combines the price performance of the coin with staking rewards generated through Figment’s staking infrastructure.
This eliminates the complexities of self-custody and network validation for investors. The ETPs will each have a management fee of 1.5%. They are powered by Issuance.Swiss AG, a turnkey solution for listing financial products like ETPs. Eva Lawrence, Head of Figment Europe stated, “We remain committed to the unprecedented demand we are seeing from institutional investors wanting staking exposure.”
The launch comes amidst a growing European market for cryptocurrency ETPs. While the US recently approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, Europe has a long history of offering various crypto ETPs. This move by Figment and Apex positions them at the forefront of innovation in European crypto-asset investment options.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETF in the US enabled investors to buy ETF shares via major fund managers. It will be listed on exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Nasdaq, and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
Key figure in the blockchain industry Patrick Hansen noted Europe’s established role as a hub for Bitcoin Exchange Traded Products (ETPs). However these European instruments differed from the recently approved U.S. Bitcoin ETFs in terms of cost and security. The average Total Expense Ratio (TER) for Europe’s 10 largest ETPs/ETNs stood at 1.047% significantly higher than the average fee of the upcoming U.S. Bitcoin ETFs.
