Brazilian Securities Regulator Approves the First Ethereum (ETH) ETF of Latin America

On Tuesday, July 13, the Brazilian Securities Regulator (CVM) approved the new cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the performance of Ether digital currency. The QR Asset Management announced the approval of this Ether ETF  – QETH11 – which shall be listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange B3. This makes it the first exchange in Latin America to list a 100% Ethereum ETF.

To track the performance of Ethereum, QETH11 will follow the CME CF Ether Reference rate, the same that is used by the CME Group. The QETH11 will buy Ethereum in the open market and carry out the custody for investors in a safe and secure environment using Gemini’s custodial solutions.

The QETH11 provides a gateway for institutional players to gain exposure to Ethereum (ETH) in a secure and regulated environment. The approval for Ether ETF from QR Capital came a month after it launched its Bitcoin ETF (QBTC11) back in June 2021. In a note accessed by Exame, QR Asset Management said:

“The Brazilian investor now has the possibility of exposure to the two largest and most valuable digital assets in the world, in a regulated, simple and secure manner. It is no longer necessary to register in exchanges, create private keys or worry about secure custody, since the fund has institutional-level custody in deep cold storage , provided by Gemini – a company specializing in the custody of cryptoactives founded by the Winklevoss twins – a service not very accessible to the common investor”.

Growing Demand for Crypto Derivatives

Brazil is seeing a growing demand for crypto derivative products as digital currencies continue to make faster inroads in the country’s financial system. On the other hand, the country’s struggling economy is pushing investors to investment vehicles like digital assets.

Apart from these two ETFs – QBTC11 and QETH11 – Brazil has been investing in ETFs that track a basket of cryptocurrencies HASH11. The positive regulatory approach from Brazil has been welcomed by investors.

The approval for QR Capital’s Ether ETF comes when ETH has been trading under pressure. In the last 24 hours, the ETH price has tanked 5.64% moving under $2000.