Regulatory authorities in Jersey were praised for working in concert to approve a bitcoin investment fund, the first fund of its kind and launched by investment manager Global Advisors.
The Global Advisors bitcoin Investment Fund allows institutional investors to gain exposure to the digital currency and, according to lawyers Carey Olsen who advised on the product, it is the first regulatory approved fund of its type.
“What was particularly noteworthy here is that, despite this being a world-first in a new asset class, the JFSC [Jersey Financial Services Commission], Digital Jersey, the States of Jersey, Global Advisors and Carey Olsen worked together to ensure all activity needed to establish this fund was done within a remarkably short period of time,” says James Mulholland, a partner at Carey Olsen.
Jersey is trying to develop a reputation as a leader in digital currencies such as Bitcoin. An industry group – Bit.coin.je – aims to make Jersey the world’s first “bitcoin isle” and it campaigns for local businesses to adopt the currency.
Elsewhere, Philip Ozouf, minister of treasury and resources, has spoken in favour of the digital currency.
“Our infrastructure of world-class financial services and digital expertise gives us the tools to be an early leader in the field,” he has said.
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