OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS : 

Custodians 

Custodians hold the underlying digital assets for physically-backed products.

Maket Makers and Authorised Participants

Market Makers (MMs) are the liquidity providers engaged by the issuers to provide the necessary liquidity for the ETPs by providing two-sided quotes on the exchanges at the agreed terms set out contractually. These include Flow Traders and GHCO.

Authorized Participants (APs), commonly banks or broker-dealers, possess the privilege to create and redeem shares of the products directly with the issuer on a daily basis. This is achieved by either delivering the underlying assets or their cash equivalent to the issuer in exchange for newly generated ETP shares or by returning shares to the issuer in exchange for the underlying assets or cash. The willingness of APs to participate in digital assets, especially for assets beyond BTC and ETH, may fluctuate due to factors such as regulatory ambiguity and prevailing market conditions.

Index Providers

Index providers are responsible for creating, designing, calculating, and maintaining indices and benchmarks that ETPs track. These provide both issuers and investors with transparency and reliability. In certain jurisdictions, index providers are subject to regulatory oversight, for instance, in the EU with the European Benchmark Regulation (BMR). 

Exchanges and Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs)

The decision of exchanges and Multilateral Trading Facilities (MTFs) to list digital assets ETPs is initially influenced by local regulations and the regulatory approval of the issuer’s prospectus. Subsequently, it transforms into a business decision guided by the issuer and product eligibility requirements specific to each trading platform. These requirements commonly involve an assessment of the underlying asset, considering factors such as liquidity, compliance, publicly available pricing information, and risk mitigation. The criteria determining which types of products are suitable for listing can vary among trading venues. For instance, Xetra in Germany exclusively lists asset-backed ETPs, and SIX Swiss Exchange has specific regulations concerning eligible digital asset underlyings.

Additional Partners and Service Providers

Trustees play a crucial role in protecting assets and advocating for the interests of ETP holders or investors. The precise duties and responsibilities of trustees can differ based on the particular structure and legal framework of the ETP.

Administrators contribute to the comprehensive operational management of ETPs, offering services that encompass accounting, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and shareholder services.

Various other service providers may contribute to the ETP program and product lifecycle. This includes, but is not restricted to, Paying Agents, tasked with registering new ETP units and securing ISINs from local agencies; Transfer Agents, responsible for maintaining shareholder records and other related duties; Calculation Agents, involved in determining the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the underlying assets; and Registrars, handling shareholder recordkeeping. The distribution of these roles and responsibilities may overlap or be assigned to different parties, contingent on factors such as product type, issuer, and jurisdiction.

Product Sponsors

Product Sponsors are responsible for the overall design and creation of the ETPs, coordinating and managing the relevant intermediaries across the product lifecycle. Regulatory oversight of Product Sponsors varies by jurisdiction and may not necessarily be a requirement. However, the regulator evaluates the Issuer as part of the prospectus approval process for the new Product, as does the exchange during the listing process, where requirements may include corporate governance, capital requirements, and regular audits. The Product Sponsor will use the stand-alone special purpose vehicle (issuance.swiss AG) to issue the products.