India's 1st crypto futures ETF to hit market

Hyderabad: Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC on Thursday said it has collaborated with BSE's international arm India INX to launch the India's first crypto futures ETF in the GIFT City.

It plans to launch the product by the end of this fiscal, subject to International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and other regulatory approvals. The two entities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch India's first Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures ETF and Metaverse US listed large-cap discount certificates, according to a press release. The Bitcoin and Ethereum Futures ETF will be the first crypto-backed futures ETF outside of the US and the first Asian Discount certificates tracking Metaverse large cap stocks in the US and Europe markets. Torus Kling Blockchain is targeting $1 billion Assets Under Management (AUM) in the first two years from customers participating in blockchain-backed products through ETFs and discount certificates.

The ETF Futures will be launched under a Sandbox construct of IFSCA. Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC will be the liquidity provider to India INX by providing round-the-clock deep liquidity with smart order routing. The product will be distributed through Torus global distribution team and partners. In recent times, digital assets have gained mainstream traction in the global capital market landscape. "India INX at GIFT IFSC is looking at exploring launch of digital asset-based products and has already made an application to IFSCA under Regulatory Sandbox," V Balasubramaniam, MD and CEO India INX, said.

Noting that this is a part of product innovation initiative to benchmark its offerings with other international finance centres, he said, "we will be launching products in these new age assets in complete compliance with the prevailing laws after receiving all required regulatory approvals". Krishna Mohan Meenavalli, CEO of Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC, said the new asset class is a tip of the iceberg. Exchange traded products allow trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cypto currency exchanges. As per reports, global derivatives trading volume for the crypto currency market totalled $3.2 trillion while total spot volumes were half a billion lower at $2.7 trillion. In India, the ETF AUM has almost doubled from Rs 1.5 lakh crore to Rs 2.9 lakh crore during FY21. Also, ETPs have acquired more than USD 1 trillion representing 15 per cent of all fund assets globally. Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC is a 50:50 joint venture between Sam Ghosh-promoted Cosmea Financial Holdings and Kling Trading India.