Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs in Switzerland: SIX Exchange, 21Shares, and the Institutional Investment Case

Switzerland’s claim to leadership in the crypto exchange-traded product space is rooted in timing. While American asset managers spent years in regulatory litigation with the SEC attempting to bring a spot Bitcoin ETF to market, SIX Swiss Exchange had already listed a physically-backed Bitcoin ETP. By the time the US finally approved its first spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, Swiss investors had been accessing Bitcoin through exchange-traded structures for over five years.

This head start produced a market with depth, product diversity, and institutional familiarity that now complements the global wave of crypto ETP issuance. Understanding the Swiss crypto ETP market means understanding its structure, its issuers, its regulatory treatment under FINMA, and how it fits into the investment frameworks of Swiss institutional investors — including the question of whether Swiss pension funds can access digital asset exposure through this channel.

How the Swiss Crypto ETP Market Originated

The world’s first physically-backed Bitcoin ETP was listed on SIX Swiss Exchange in November 2018. The product was structured as a delta-one exchange-traded note — tracking Bitcoin’s spot price through direct physical backing, meaning the issuer held actual Bitcoin in custody as collateral for the outstanding shares.

21Shares (then called Amun) listed its ABTC product on SIX in 2019 and rapidly expanded its product range to become the largest crypto ETP issuer in the world. 21Shares is incorporated in Zug — a direct product of Switzerland’s Crypto Valley — and has built a global product catalogue covering Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and dozens of other digital assets across European exchanges. The firm’s SIX listing represents its home market, where it developed its regulatory framework and issuer infrastructure before expanding internationally.

The Swiss market’s receptiveness to crypto ETPs reflected a broader national characteristic: Switzerland’s financial regulators and exchanges have historically been willing to innovate at the product structure level, listing novel instruments — whether structured products, commodity-linked notes, or crypto-linked ETPs — ahead of their peers in the UK, Germany, and the US.

How Swiss Crypto ETPs Work

Swiss crypto ETPs trade on SIX Swiss Exchange in the same way as equities or conventional exchange-traded funds. An investor buys or sells shares through their bank or broker during SIX trading hours (9:00–17:30 Zurich time). Price quotes are available throughout the trading day, with market makers providing two-sided liquidity.

Physical backing is the defining characteristic of the Swiss ETP model. Each outstanding ETP share is backed by a corresponding quantity of the underlying digital asset — actual Bitcoin or Ethereum held by a regulated custodian on behalf of the ETP. The ETP’s net asset value (NAV) is calculated daily based on the spot price of the underlying asset, and authorised participants (typically institutional market makers) can create and redeem shares against physical Bitcoin, keeping the ETP’s market price closely aligned with its NAV.

This structure is economically equivalent to owning the underlying asset — the ETP investor has indirect economic exposure to the asset’s price movements, without needing to manage private keys, custody relationships, or blockchain transactions. The custody risk rests with the ETP’s designated custodian; the regulatory protection rests with FINMA’s supervision of the ETP structure.

FINMA classification: Swiss crypto ETPs are classified as structured products under the Swiss Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA) and the Financial Instruments and Market Infrastructure regulation framework. They are not classified as collective investment schemes (funds), which distinguishes them from crypto ETFs in some international markets. This classification means they are supervised as structured products — subject to issuance prospectus requirements, issuer capital requirements, and FINMA oversight, but without the full fund management regulatory overlay.

Daily NAV and pricing: The ETP’s daily NAV is calculated using reference prices from major regulated spot exchanges. For Bitcoin ETPs, this is typically based on the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate or equivalent regulated benchmark, providing an independently verifiable daily valuation point that institutional investors can use for portfolio accounting and reporting.

Key Issuers on SIX Swiss Exchange

21Shares

21Shares is the largest crypto ETP issuer globally by product count, with over 40 crypto ETP products listed across European exchanges. Its SIX-listed products include:

• ABTC — 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (physically backed)
• AETH — 21Shares Ethereum ETP (physically backed)
• ASOL — 21Shares Solana ETP
• AXRP — 21Shares XRP ETP
• Multiple themed basket ETPs covering DeFi, smart contract platforms, and sector indices

21Shares’ Zug headquarters connects it directly to Switzerland’s Crypto Valley ecosystem, and its institutional distribution team serves Swiss family offices, asset managers, and private banks that want access to its product range through regulated channels.

VanEck

VanEck lists its VBTC (VanEck Bitcoin ETP) on SIX Swiss Exchange among other European venues. VanEck is notable as a firm that spent years in unsuccessful application processes with the US SEC before the January 2024 approvals, making it one of the companies that most directly benefited from Switzerland’s earlier openness to physically-backed crypto ETP listings.

WisdomTree

WisdomTree’s BTCW Bitcoin ETP and ETHW Ethereum ETP are listed on SIX. WisdomTree has built out a significant European crypto ETP range, with custody arrangements that it has disclosed publicly, allowing institutional investors to conduct due diligence on the specific custody infrastructure backing their ETP investment.

Invesco

Invesco’s BTIC (Invesco Bitcoin ETP) rounds out the major issuers on SIX, providing institutional investors with a product from one of the world’s largest traditional asset managers — a credibility signal for institutional investors whose committees have familiarity with Invesco from other asset classes.

The US Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval and Its Impact on Switzerland

On January 10, 2024, the US SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF products simultaneously, including the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and products from Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, and others. This was a watershed moment for global crypto markets — the world’s largest investment market had validated spot Bitcoin exposure as an institutional product category.

The impact on the Swiss market was complex:

AUM growth: Swiss ETPs saw asset under management growth in 2024 as the global legitimacy signal from US ETF approval drove institutional interest. International capital that had previously avoided crypto entirely began allocating, and some of that flow found its way to Swiss ETP products on SIX.

Fee compression: US Bitcoin ETFs launched at aggressively low fee rates — BlackRock’s IBIT at 0.25%, Fidelity’s FBTC at 0.25%. Swiss ETPs had historically priced between 0.50% and 2.50% in management fees. The US product launch created competitive fee pressure on Swiss issuers, with several cutting their fees in 2024 to remain competitive for international institutional investors who could access either market.

Track record advantage: Swiss ETPs have a track record stretching back to 2018 — five to six years longer than US products. For institutional investors conducting manager due diligence, this track record is meaningful. Swiss ETP issuers emphasise their operational history through multiple market cycles, including the 2022 bear market and FTX contagion period, as evidence of structural resilience.

Complementarity: For Swiss institutional investors, SIX-listed ETPs remain the natural vehicle because they trade in Swiss francs on the domestic exchange, settle through SIX SIS’s infrastructure, and fit within existing Swiss securities portfolio accounting systems without cross-currency complexity.

Swiss ETP vs. US ETF: Structural Comparison

The structural similarity between Swiss physically-backed ETPs and US physically-backed ETFs is high — both provide exchange-traded, daily NAV, physically-backed exposure to Bitcoin or Ethereum through a regulated custody arrangement. The primary practical differences are regulatory jurisdiction, trading currency, and the exchange on which they trade.

Swiss Pension Funds and Crypto ETP Access

The question of whether Swiss Pensionskassen (occupational pension funds) can access crypto exposure through ETPs is legally nuanced and frequently asked by institutional investors.

Swiss pension funds are governed by the Occupational Pensions Act (BVG/LPP) and its implementing ordinance BVV2/OPP2, which establishes investment categories and portfolio limits. The relevant provisions are:

Article 55 BVV2 establishes investment limits by asset class. Traditional listed securities have high or unlimited portfolio limits. Alternative investments — defined broadly as investments that do not fit within the standard categories — are limited to 15% of the portfolio.

The classification question: Whether a crypto ETP held on SIX qualifies as a listed security (potentially a higher or uncapped limit) or as an alternative investment (subject to the 15% cap) depends on the fund’s specific charter (Reglement) and its investment committee’s interpretation. A physically-backed Bitcoin ETP traded on a regulated exchange is structurally a listed structured product — not a direct digital asset holding — which some funds interpret as falling within their securities allocation rather than their alternatives bucket.

Practical reality: Most Swiss Pensionskassen have not yet built dedicated crypto exposure into their asset allocation frameworks. A significant minority hold crypto ETP exposure at small allocations (typically under 1-2% of portfolio) as part of their alternatives sleeve. As the US ETF approval has increased the perceived legitimacy of institutional crypto exposure, governance conversations at Swiss pension boards have accelerated.

Investment mandate requirements: Before a Pensionskasse can invest in crypto ETPs, its investment charter must explicitly permit such investments. Amending the charter requires approval from the pension fund’s governing board (Stiftungsrat). Many funds are in this governance process as of 2025-2026.

Custody Arrangements for Swiss ETPs

A key due diligence item for institutional investors in SIX-listed crypto ETPs is the custodian holding the underlying digital assets. The major SIX-listed ETPs use the following custody arrangements:

21Shares: Uses Coinbase Custody Trust Company (a US regulated entity) and has disclosed its custody arrangements in product documentation. Coinbase Custody is subject to New York Department of Financial Services oversight as a qualified custodian.

WisdomTree: Uses Coinbase Custody as its primary custodian for its European crypto ETPs.

VanEck: Also uses Coinbase Custody for its VBTC product.

The custody implication: Most major Swiss-listed ETPs rely on US-regulated Coinbase Custody rather than FINMA-regulated Swiss custodians. This means the underlying Bitcoin is held outside the Swiss regulatory framework, under NYDFS supervision. For institutional investors who require FINMA-supervised custody throughout their investment chain, this may be a consideration — though Coinbase Custody’s regulated status and scale are significant institutional confidence factors regardless of jurisdiction.

Swiss institutions seeking exposure to Bitcoin held in FINMA-regulated Swiss custody should consider direct custody at Sygnum or AMINA Bank as an alternative or complement to ETP exposure.

Investment Case: ETPs vs. Direct Custody

The institutional investment case for crypto exposure via SIX-listed ETPs compared to direct spot ownership through a regulated Swiss custodian involves several trade-offs:

Operational simplicity: ETPs eliminate the operational overhead of direct digital asset custody — no private key management, no on-chain transaction coordination, no custody agreement negotiation. The ETP shares settle through standard securities infrastructure (SIX SIS) that institutional investors already use for equities and bonds.

Accounting integration: ETP shares are securities with ISINs, daily NAV prices, and standard securities accounting codes. They integrate without friction into institutional portfolio management systems. Direct Bitcoin holdings require either bespoke accounting treatment or integration with specialist digital asset accounting software.

Regulatory clarity: SIX-listed structured products have a defined regulatory classification under FINMA and Swiss securities law. For institutional investors whose compliance teams need certainty about the regulatory treatment of each investment, ETPs provide clearer answers than direct digital asset holdings in some jurisdictions.

Fee cost: ETP management fees (even at the compressed 0.25-0.50% range now available) are a perpetual drag on returns relative to holding Bitcoin directly in custody at a fee of 0.10-0.30% AUC. For long-term institutional holders, direct custody becomes more cost-efficient over multi-year holding periods.

Staking yield: Direct ETH holdings can generate staking yield (currently 3-4% APY) through staking-as-a-service at Swiss custodians. Ethereum ETPs typically do not distribute staking yield — the yield is often absorbed by the issuer or not captured at all. For institutions with significant Ethereum allocations, this yield difference is material.

Liquidity and rebalancing: ETP shares can be sold on SIX during trading hours with immediate price certainty and T+2 settlement into the investor’s existing securities account. Direct digital asset holdings require coordination with an OTC desk or custodian for large redemptions and may involve blockchain settlement timing.

For most Swiss institutional investors entering the digital asset space for the first time, ETPs provide the most accessible and operationally familiar entry point. As allocations grow and institutional digital asset sophistication deepens, the economics often shift toward direct institutional OTC trading and custody arrangements with FINMA-regulated banks.

Related Coverage

• [Institutional Crypto Custody in Switzerland: Sygnum, Copper, and the FINMA-Regulated Landscape](/infrastructure/crypto-custody-switzerland/)
• Institutional OTC Trading in Switzerland: Desks, Settlement, and Prime Brokerage
• Spot Trading: Definition and Digital Asset Applications
• Switzerland’s Digital Asset Exchange Landscape: FINMA Licensing and Market Structure
• Crypto Derivatives Trading in Switzerland: Futures, Options, and the FINMA Regulatory Framework

Donovan Vanderbilt is the founder of The Vanderbilt Portfolio AG, Zurich. ZUG TRADING does not provide investment advice. This article is for informational purposes only.