Major Polish insurer PZU joins crypto market with regulated Bitcoin fund

Leading Polish insurance company PZU announced it is entering the crypto assets market with a Bitcoin fund that will offer investors exposure to the cryptocurrency under EU rules.

The minimum investment amount has been set to 100 Polish złoty, and the insurer pointed out that the valuation in Poland’s national fiat ensures currency stability for the new product.

PZU responds to growing Polish interest in crypto with a Bitcoin fund

Poland’s major provider of insurance services, Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń (PZU), unveiled that it will be offering a product giving clients indirect access to Bitcoin (BTC), the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization.

The new “inPZU Bitcoin” fund, to be launched through its investment firm TFI PZU, will replicate the rate of return of BTC, the company said in a press release quoted by the Polish financial news portal Bankier.pl and the English-language Warsaw Business Journal.

PZU emphasized that it is presenting the product in response to the growing interest in digital assets among Poles and against the backdrop of the ongoing development and growth of cryptocurrency funds around the world. It also insisted:

“This is the first investment fund in Poland aimed at a wide range of investors providing ‘pure’ exposure to Bitcoin.”

Aiming for a low entry threshold, PZU has set the minimum initial deposit at just 100 Polish złoty (under $27) and does not require investors to have a brokerage account in order to take advantage of the offering. A 0.5% annual management fee applies as with the insurer’s other funds.

The Bitcoin fund will be compliant with the European Union’s Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) regulatory framework for investment funds. The latter represents a popular investment option among small investors across the bloc.

Currently, qualified investors in Poland can put money into Bitcoin through exchange-traded products (ETPs) and exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), listed on the country’s stock exchange and similar to exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

PZU’s Bitcoin fund will invest at least 80% of its portfolio in ETC and ETP instruments with BTC serving as the underlying asset, the company said and noted:

“The fund cannot purchase bitcoin directly on the market or enter into derivative contracts based on this cryptocurrency.”

The InPZU Bitcoin fund is an index fund tracking the Bloomberg Bitcoin Index, seeking to reflect the price of BTC expressed in U.S. dollars, the insurer detailed.

PZU also highlighted the improving perception of cryptocurrencies globally, marking last year’s regulatory approval of ETFs tracking the price of BTC by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a milestone in this regard.

Investor interest in crypto assets is justified, PZU says

The January 2024 decision of the U.S. SEC has translated into a dynamic increase in assets under management in such funds, the Polish firm elaborated, adding that funds investing in Bitcoin have already accumulated more than 150 billion dollars as of the end of May.

The PZU analysts are convinced that investor interest in crypto assets is well-grounded as the average annual return on Bitcoin investments over the past 10 years is around 85%, which has earned it the “digital gold” title and acceptance as a hedge against inflation.

The inPZU Bitcoin fund will go on sale on August 28, the press release unveiled. The Polish company warns that it is the riskiest product in its fund offering lineup, targeting investors who are aware of the high fluctuations in the value of crypto assets.

PZU is Poland’s largest insurance and financial firm with over $118 billion in assets in 2024, according to the Forbes Global 2000 ranking. It is also one of the biggest insurers in Eastern Europe, where cryptocurrencies have been gaining recognition.

In neighboring Czech Republic, for example, the central bank is considering adding Bitcoin to its currency reserves.

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