​Astana International Exchange launched bitcoin futures trading

What’s new? Kazakhstan’s Astana International Exchange (AIX) has launched exchange-traded notes (ETNs) linked to shares of the US-based fund, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). The AIX press office reported that investors can trade these instruments directly as the value of the ETNs is tied to the BITO exchange rate, LS news agency reports. In this, there will be imposed no exchange restrictions or additional taxes.

LS’s material

What is known about the new notes? BITO is the first and largest fund registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that invests in bitcoin futures.

“Bitcoin ETN allows simplifying the process of investing in cryptocurrency. The investments take place in a fund that tracks the value of bitcoin futures. A digital wallet is not needed for this,” the AIX press office said.

The exchange added that investors already have the option of investing in various types of exchange-traded notes that are linked to gold, oil, the S&P 500 index, etc.

What preceded it? The Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan, Alibek Kuantyrov, proposed to tie the mining tax to the price of cryptocurrencies. According to Kuantyrov, this initiative should have a positive impact on the country’s economy.

In March, Bitfinex Securities, an investment platform, began operating in Kazakhstan. The first tradable asset on the platform was the Blockstream Mining Note (BMN) security token.