Napoleon AM, a French asset management firm, has launched a new crypto fund tied to Chicago Mercantile Exchange ’s (CME) cash-settled Bitcoin futures.
Reported by Coindesk, the fund started trading on December 6 and is only allowing professional investors with a minimum investment amount of €100,000 (around $110,000) to buy a stake in it.
The company gained the license of Alternative Investment Fund Manager in May this year and is regulated under French law, which also restrict it only to French residents.
Dubbed Napoleon Bitcoin Fund, the fund is based on the cash-settled Bitcoin futures issued by the CME group, meaning the fund managers are only tracking the price movement of the digital asset without holding it.
“We have opened the door for alternative use of futures in order to optimize replication and maintain access to the best sources in the future,” Sergio Gonzalez, communications director at Napoleon AM, told the publication.
The company is also open to adding other cash-settled Bitcoin futures products like the one recently launched by Bakkt in Singapore.
“We are proud to contribute to the institutionalization and democratization of digital assets through a unique regulated fund under French law,” Stéphane Ifrah, President of Napoleon AM, added.
Adopting crypto into the mainstream
Though France opposed digital assets for a long time and also was at the forefront to block Libra into Europe, the country’s central bank governor recently announced the banks plan to test-launch a central bank-bank digital currency by next year.
Meanwhile, after the high demand for its Bitcoin futures contracts, Bakkt launched Bitcoin options contracts. CME Group is also participating in the race and will launch a similar product next month.
Bakkt has launched Bitcoin options contracts and cash-settled futures contracts that use its physically-settled bitcoin contracts as a benchmark. @Bakkt @WhiteAdamL #C2CX https://t.co/MDqbFRYPZa pic.twitter.com/XcmbiO6auW
— C2CX Exchange (@C2CXExchange) December 10, 2019
