If approved, the EU’s UCITS funds would make way for crypto assets to gain exposure to a 12 trillion euro investment product market.
The European Union security watchdog, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), is seeking the opinion of experts on whether to add crypto to the 12 trillion euro ($12.8 trillion) investment product market.
The ESMA asked industry experts for their views on whether Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) — an investment product market valued at 12 trillion euros — can gain exposure to different asset classes such as structured or leveraged loans, catastrophe bonds, emission allowances, commodities, crypto assets and unlisted equities.
UCITS are a class of investment funds comprising products intended to protect and simplify investing transactions. UCITS are often comprised of mutual, exchange-traded or money market funds. EU regulations govern these funds; however, non-EU investors can also gain exposure.