Guides / Glossary / Exchange-traded product
Glossary

Exchange-traded product: bitcoin price exposure without keys

A listed security, such as a US spot bitcoin ETF or a UK crypto ETN, that gives price exposure. The holder owns a share or note, not bitcoin.

Education onlyUnited Kingdom and United States

Definition. A listed security, such as a spot bitcoin ETF or a crypto ETN, that gives price exposure. The holder owns a share or note, not bitcoin.

How it works

An exchange-traded product is a security that trades on a stock exchange and tracks an underlying asset. For bitcoin, the issuer or its custodian holds bitcoin, or in some structures derivatives, and the holder owns a share in a fund or a note issued by a company. The company buys and sells through an ordinary brokerage account during market hours. It does not manage any keys and cannot withdraw bitcoin.

Why it matters for a company

For a company that wants price exposure without operating custody, an exchange-traded product can be simpler. Risks shift rather than disappear: issuer and custodian arrangements, fees, tracking differences, market hours and the legal nature of what is held. This site names no products or tickers. It describes the categories so a board can compare them with holding bitcoin directly.

United KingdomGo to United States

In the UK, the FCA lifted its ban on retail access to crypto exchange-traded notes from 8 October 2025, for notes admitted to trading on a UK recognised investment exchange. A cETN is a debt security: the holder is a creditor of the issuer, not an owner of bitcoin. HMRC has published guidance on how cETNs are treated for tax, and for a company the result follows the instrument rather than the rules for holding bitcoin directly. Ask the accountant which rules apply to the company's holding.

In the US, the SEC approved the listing of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products on 10 January 2024. Its investor bulletin explains that holders own shares, not bitcoin, and sets out fees and risks. For accounting, ASU 2023-08 applies to crypto assets the company holds directly; shares in a fund are a different asset and are typically accounted for as equity securities, so confirm the treatment with the auditor.

Both countries
Example only, fictional. A board compares two routes in a paper: a 2 of 3 multisig holding, with key management costs and control, against a listed product, with fund fees, market hours and issuer risk. The minutes record why it chose one route.

Common mistakes

Sources

Primary sources only. Each link was checked on 9 November 2026. Rules change, so confirm the current version with your adviser.

  1. SECRelease No. 34-99306 (January 10, 2024): order approving the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products
  2. SECInvestor Bulletin: exchange-traded products providing exposure to bitcoin and ether (September 2024)
  3. FCAFCA opens retail access to crypto ETNs (in force 8 October 2025)
  4. HMRCTax treatment of cryptoasset Exchange Traded Notes
  5. FASBASU 2023-08, Intangibles: Goodwill and Other, Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60)
Education, not advice.

This is general information and education only. It is not financial, investment, tax, accounting, legal or regulatory advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold bitcoin or any other asset. It does not take account of your circumstances or those of your company. You must obtain your own official professional advice to confirm this information is correct before acting on it.

Rules change. This information is correct to our understanding at the last-reviewed date, but it may be incomplete or out of date, and official sources take precedence. Bitcoin is volatile. A company that buys it could lose some or all of the money it puts in.

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