London Stock Exchange loses key ETF leaders ahead of crypto ETPs launch

As
the
London
Stock
Exchange
gears
up
to
list
its
inaugural
crypto
exchange-traded
products,
about
half
of
its
exchange-traded
fund
team
has
reportedly
left.

Just
as
the
London
Stock
Exchange
(LSE)
prepares
to
list
its
first
crypto-linked
products,
two
members
of
its
four-person
team
overseeing
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
departed,
Bloomberg

reports,
citing
a
spokesperson
for
LSE.

According
to
the
report,
Michael
Stanley,
the
head
of
exchange-traded
products,
and
Hetal
Patel,
head
of
business
development,
have
left
the
organization,
though
the
exact
timing
of
their
exits
remains
unclear.

The
departures
come
as
the
LSE
readies
itself
to
list
its
first-ever
crypto-linked
products.
A
senior
executive
from
a
prospective
crypto
exchange-traded
note
(ETN)
issuer,
speaking
on
condition
of
anonymity,
expressed
concerns
to
Bloomberg
about
the
impact
of
these
departures
on
receiving
crucial
feedback
from
the
LSE
regarding
technical
matters
related
to
applications.

The
LSE
is
set
to
debut
a
series
of
exchange-traded
notes
(ETNs)
linked
to
physically-backed
Bitcoin
(BTC)
and
Ethereum
(ETH)
on
May
28,
with
approvals

already
obtained
by
issuers
like
WisdomTree,
21Shares,
and
Invesco.

Although
Europe
has
had
access
to
crypto
ETNs
for
some
time,
previous
UK
regulations
prohibiting
retail
access
to
crypto
derivatives
had
prevented
their
listing
in
London.
However,
a
shift
occurred
in
March
when
the
Financial
Conduct
Authority
(FCA)

updated
its
guidelines,
paving
the
way
for
crypto
ETPs
on
the
LSE.

While
spot
Bitcoin
and
Ethereum
ETFs
have
gained
regulatory
approval
in

the
United
States
and

Hong
Kong,
it’s
yet
to
be
seen
how
high
the
level
of
demand
for
these
products
will
be
in
the
United
Kingdom.