Since last November, to provide the Nasdaq with European investment fund data. French-based investment firm Melanion Capital says it chose the MBTCX unique 5-character symbol for the exchange-traded fund to make it “searchable on one of the largest distribution networks, and connecting it into online brokerages and major market data vendors.” It is the first European domiciled Bitcoin thematic fund to subscribe to a Nasdaq symbol and to be distributed through the Nasdaq Fund Exchange.

Cyril Sabbagh, head of ETF business at Melanion Capital thanked Kneip for accompanying the company on what he called a first of its kind. “After having been the first to launch a Bitcoin thematic UCITS ETF, we are very happy to be the first in Europe to obtain a Nasdaq symbol (MBTCX) for this type of ETF and be distributed on the Nasdaq Fund Network,” Sabbagh said. The firm’s sister company, Melanion Digital, was also the first to issue a Bitcoin SPAC.

The MBTCX fund tracks the performance of the Melanion Bitcoin Exposure Index, which is composed of companies with significant activities in the Bitcoin theme. Moreover, Kneip says in a press release, “this ETF is eligible in all classic envelopes (securities accounts of course but also all insurance wrappers”.

Kneip CCO Jacob Koopmans said of the launch: “Melanion Capital is an innovator that prides itself in leading the way in fund selection and distribution, and who seized the opportunity to access the distribution channels of the NFN and improve the discoverability of their funds with the Nasdaq symbol.”