Bitcoin fund offered by 3iQ Corp. gets thumbs up from Canadian regulators

Canada-based investment fund manager, 3iQ Corp., is in the news after it received a thumbs up from the Ontario Securities Commission [OSC], with regard to its application for a Bitcoin Fund.

The Canadian fund manager published a blog post revealing that the OSC had ruled in favor of the firm in a public hearing. The OSC panel has commanded the OSC Director to “issue a receipt for a final prospectus of the Fund.” The Bitcoin Fund is a closed-ended fund and will be part of the Canadian stock exchange.

Previously, at the beginning of the year, the OSC had shot down 3iQ’s appeal as it did not comply with the regulations of the country. Additionally, the OSC had said that it wasn’t in public interest to do the same.

President and CEO of 3iQ Corp., Fred Pye, informed the community that the firm has been actively operating with the Investment Funds and Structured Products branch of the OSC for the last three years in a bid to deliver a product that would benefit investors by helping them invest in the king coin via a regulated and listed fund. He went on to say,

“We have addressed the questions of pricing, custody, audit, and public interest issues in a regulated investment fund. We intend to refile the prospectus as soon as possible as the next step in bringing this ground breaking fund to investors.”

3iQ aspires to start trading by the end of this quarter as soon as the Bitcoin Fund is listed. As per the laws put forth by the Province of Ontario, the fund has been deemed to be a non-redeemable investment fund [NRIF].

New York-based VanEck’s Index Solutions has also extended its support to 3iQ  for the “development of an innovative Bitcoin benchmark.” Another New York-based exchange, Gemini Trust Company LLC led by the Winklevoss twins, would be the custodian of the Bitcoin in the Fund. Cameron Winklevoss, Co-founder of Gemini, went on to express his excitement about the latest collaboration and said,

“3iQ has carefully selected a team of professional partners with expertise in the digital asset industry to construct a safe and secure fund product for the Canadian market, and we are excited to be selected as their custodian.”

Gemini is required to store the virtual assets in a trusted and compliant method in order to manage 3iQ’s latest fund, Winklevoss added.