Six Bitcoin Mutual Funds to Debut in Israel Next Week: Report

Six mutual funds tracking the price of bitcoin (BTC) will debut in Israel next week after the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) granted permission for the products, Calcalist reported on Wednesday.

All six will start operations on the same day, Dec. 31, a condition imposed by the regulator, Calcalist said. Final approval for the funds was granted last week.

The funds will be offered by Migdal Capital Markets, More, Ayalon, Phoenix Investment, Meitav and IBI, with management fees ranging from as high as 1.5% to 0.25%. One of the funds will be actively managed, trying to beat bitcon's performance. They will initially transact just once a day, though future products will be able to trade continuously, Globes said in a Tuesday report, citing market sources.

The ISA's approval comes almost a year after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighted spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the world's largest economy, during which the world's largest cryptocurrency has more than doubled to trade near a record high. The U.S. funds have gathered a net $35.6 billion of investor cash.

"The investment houses have been pleading for more than a year for ETFs to be approved and started sending prospectuses for bitcoin funds in the middle of the year. But the regulator marches to its own tune. It has to check the details," an unidentified senior executive at an investment house told Calcalist.