India is about to have its first Bitcoin ETF despite the regulatory limbo

• Torus Kling Blockchain is set to partner with two other companies to launch a Bitcoin ETF, the first one in India.
• The ETF is expected to launch by the end of the fiscal year despite the Indian government failing to provide direction or certainty for digital assets.

Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become the new frontier of growth with the most excitement, and India doesn’t intend to lag behind. Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC, a joint venture between two local entities has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch India’s first Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF before the fiscal year ends, amid a lack of regulatory direction.

Canada was among the first countries to approve a Bitcoin ETF and it was an instant access. After turning down several applications for a similar product, the U.S SEC finally approved one last year, and it was an even bigger success and led to a spate of others.

Related: What streaming did for The Beatles is what an ETF will do for Bitcoin: Analyst

Two Indian companies have joined hands to launch a similar product and they hope they can also strike gold like their Western counterparts. Cosmea Financial Holdings and Kling Trading India have partnered to form Torus Kling Blockchain IFSC which in turn has partnered with India INX to develop the product.

India INX will be the trading platform for the BTC and ETH ETFs, with Cosmea being the distributor as Kling Trading takes care of the tech needs.

Krishna Mohan Meenavalli, the CEO of Torus Kling commented:

New Asset class is the tip of the iceberg. Exchange trade products allow trading through regular investment accounts, bypassing the hassle and security concerns of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Torus Kling has its sights set on an ambitious target of hitting $1 billion in assets under management in the first two years of the ETFs. While this goal sounds like the company is punching above its weight, the success of Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S has shown that the market is yearning for such a product.

When the ProShares Bitcoin ETF launched, it saw massive interest from investors on its first day and beyond. The ETF, which trades under the ticker BITO, broke $1 billion in just two days, a record for the U.S market.

Related: ProShares Bitcoin ETF registers record trading volumes on debut, BTC price crosses $64,000

Krishna added:

Bringing futures and launching crypto ETFs will attract a lot of LRS market into the Gift City because ETFs allow people to interact with the digital media digital assets.

The Indian cryptocurrency market is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Exchanges like CoinSwitch Kuber and WazirX have recorded massive interest, with trading volume and new signups soaring in the past few years.

This is despite the regulations being in limbo, with the government swinging back and forth on whether it intends to ban digital assets. The Reserve Bank of India has been very open about its desire to have crypto banned, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sided with enabling regulations.