Swiss Bitcoin Fund Gets BBIT Ticker as U.S. Spot Bitcoin Funds Draw $1.08 Billion

BIT Asset Management named its newly approved Swiss product the Bitcoin Fund ETF, or BBIT, as U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) funds drew $1.08 billion in net inflows over three trading sessions through Oct. 21.

The company expects BBIT to begin trading on SIX Swiss Exchange in November. The Swiss fund is separate from the U.S. products in the flow totals and had not started trading as of Oct. 22.

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved the product Oct. 20, making it Switzerland’s first exchange-traded public fund to invest directly in Bitcoin. FINMA placed it in the “other fund for alternative investments” category with particular risk and granted an exemption from applicable risk-diversification rules. The regulator based the exemption on Bitcoin’s long trading history and high trading volume compared with other cryptocurrencies.

FINMA warned that Bitcoin investments remain highly risky and investors could lose a significant amount of their capital. It also called for measures addressing custody and operational risks, along with clear risk disclosures.

A crypto fund FINMA approved in 2021 was limited to qualified investors and primarily invested in a basket of cryptocurrencies.

U.S. spot Bitcoin funds recorded net inflows of $526.6 million on Oct. 19, $23.2 million on Oct. 20 and $528.4 million on Oct. 21. Together, the three sessions totaled $1.0782 billion. The Oct. 20 intake was small beside the totals on the surrounding days, bringing the combined figure to just over twice the Oct. 19 net.

On Oct. 19, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took in $665.2 million. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) had $83.6 million in outflows, while Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) had $54.9 million in outflows. Those redemptions partly offset IBIT’s inflow; the net for the full group was $526.6 million.

Net flows measure fund creations minus redemptions, so they are different from trading volume. The figures cover U.S. spot Bitcoin funds, not the Swiss fund or direct Bitcoin purchases.