Canada’s CI Financial Raises $72 Million for Its Bitcoin Fund IPO

CI Financial Corporation, one of the biggest mutual fund managers in Canada, has recently completed a $72 million fundraise through the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its Bitcoin Fund. In a statement to Bloomberg on Wednesday, December 16, CI Financial the IPO had shares sold at a price of CAD 12.88.

CI Financial will co-manage this fund with Galaxy Digital Capital Management who will serve as a Bitcoin sub-adviser. Besides, Galaxy Digital will also execute the Bitcoin trading on behalf of the fund.

The CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund shares will start trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange against the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar. CI Financial said that the fund will allow its clients access to the world’s largest cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) which is recently trading at an all-time high of $20,657 levels.

Besides, the Bitcoin fund will allow clients to hold Bitcoins through its existing investment channels without needing other platforms and accounts. CI Financial Chief Executive Officer Kurt MacAlpine said:

“Having a product that can be bought directly — it can be bought through their financial adviser on behalf of them — it just makes their life a lot simpler than having to address their desire for Bitcoin via different structures and wallets”.

MacAlpine also noted that this offering has attracted huge interest from institutions, high-net-worth investors, individuals, and financial advisors. The IPO comes just at the right time when there’s a massive institutional as well as retail interest in Bitcoin (BTC).

Broader Mainstream Acceptance for Bitcoin

Over the last two months, Bitcoin has pulled massive institutional money at an unprecedented rate. Speaking on CI Financial’s launch of Bitcoin Fund, Galaxy Digital CEO and former Wall Street hedge-fund-manager Mike Novogratz said:

“It’s an institution joining the space. “It’s not just the investors, it’s institutionalizing the entire space.”

The closed-ended Bitcoin fund will directly invest in Bitcoins. The fund holdings shall be priced using the Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin Index. Furthermore, the fund’s Bitcoin holdings will be kept securely in cold storage and investors can redeem the units in net asset value on a yearly basis.

This announcement is another major boost to Bitcoin’s institutional acceptance. Just a few hours back, Reuters also reported that Britain-based fund manager Ruffer Investment Management had invested $745 million into Bitcoin in November 2020. This investment is one of the biggest institutional bets in BTC so far.

The Bitcoin investment comes as a hedge against the rapidly devaluating global currencies said Ruffers. The memo reads:“We see this as a small but potent insurance policy against the continuing devaluation of the world’s major currencies,”