UK FCA allows crypto ETPs for retail investors…Valour lists on the London Stock Exchange

With the UK financial regulator formally allowing exchange-traded products (ETPs) linked to virtual assets (cryptocurrencies) for retail investors, related products are beginning to appear in earnest on the London market.

According to Cointelegraph on the 26th (local time), Valour, the UK subsidiary of digital asset firm DeFi Technologies, said it has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch crypto ETPs for retail investors. This enables Valour to list ETPs linked to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and offer them to UK retail investors.

Johan Wattenström, Chairman and CEO of DeFi Technologies, said, “The UK is one of the most important financial markets in the world,” adding that “this approval has broadened the pathway for UK retail investors to access the digital asset economy more easily through transparent, exchange-listed products.”

Valour previously announced plans in September last year to list a Bitcoin staking ETP on the London Stock Exchange, but at the time it was aimed only at professional investors. However, after the FCA lifted its ban on crypto ETPs for retail investors in October last year, the scope has now been expanded to include retail investors. Major asset managers such as Bitwise are also reportedly preparing to enter the UK market.

Meanwhile, Valour has already launched a Solana (SOL)-based ETP in Brazil and is now accelerating the expansion of its global crypto ETP business through its entry into the UK. According to the London Stock Exchange, more than 50 issuers have listed over 2,300 ETPs, and trading value in crypto ETPs totaled about $280 million in December last year.