FRANKFURT—BNP Paribas on Monday quietly began trading two new exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that give European investors direct, regulated exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to people familiar with the launch.
The notes, branded BNP Paribas Bitcoin ETN and BNP Paribas Ethereum ETN, were admitted to trading on Deutsche Börse’s Xetra platform at the market open. Term sheets reviewed by SourceRated show each instrument is 100 percent physically backed by the underlying digital asset and carries a 1.5 percent management fee.
Although several specialist issuers already list crypto-linked products in Europe, BNP Paribas is the first top-ten global bank to originate its own ETNs tied to the two largest cryptocurrencies by market value. “The listing marks a milestone in the institutional acceptance of the asset class,” said a person involved in structuring the products, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.
The Paris-based lender is using Frankfurt-licensed digital-asset custodian BitGo Deutschland GmbH to hold the coins backing the notes, according to marketing material sent to clients. Settlement and clearing are handled through Clearstream, Deutsche Börse’s post-trade subsidiary.
BNP Paribas declined to comment, but two market-making firms confirmed they have been appointed as designated specialists to provide on-screen liquidity. Average spreads in early trading were 0.15 percent, tighter than many rival crypto ETPs.
“Having a bulge-bracket bank behind these notes should reassure sophisticated investors who have been wary of counterparty and custody risks,” said Carolin Kühn, an analyst at Frankfurt-based research house ETC Group. She added that France’s regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, had no objections to the cross-border listing because the notes are passported under the EU’s UCITS framework.
Retail access will remain limited to jurisdictions that allow the sale of crypto ETPs; the U.K., for example, still prohibits their marketing to retail investors. Nevertheless, asset managers expect inflows from private banks and family offices looking for a MiFID-compliant wrapper.
Analysts say the move could pressure other universal banks to follow suit ahead of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which comes into force next year. “Competition will heat up quickly,” said Kühn. “Fees will fall and liquidity will improve as more incumbents enter the space.”
For BNP Paribas, the ETNs serve as a test bed for broader digital-asset services, including potential spot-trading and custody offerings, people close to the bank said. If volumes meet internal targets, additional products tracking Solana, Polygon and a basket of proof-of-stake tokens are being considered.