Kazakhstan has taken a major step in the digital asset market with the launch of its first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The fund, called the Fonte Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (BETF), began trading on Wednesday on the Astana International Exchange (AIX).
BETF is managed by Fonte Capital, an asset manager registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). According to AIX, the ETF allows a wide range of investors, including retail participants, to gain indirect access to Bitcoin without having to hold the cryptocurrency themselves.
BitGo as the Custodian
The fund is physically backed by Bitcoin, which will be held by BitGo Trust, a US-based subsidiary of BitGo. BitGo is a US-regulated crypto custodian known for providing Bitcoin storage for major US spot Bitcoin ETF issuers, such as ARK Invest and 21Shares.
This marks BitGo’s first time offering institutional-grade Bitcoin access to investors in Central Asia. The company said it will provide “secure, US-regulated cold storage” for the ETF’s Bitcoin holdings.
While BitGo confirmed its role in the new ETF in a post on X, neither Fonte Capital nor the Astana International Exchange mentioned the custodian in their official announcements.
In its statement, BitGo said Kazakhstan is entering “a new era for digital assets” with the launch of the Fonte Bitcoin ETF, highlighting the country’s growing role in the global cryptocurrency market.
Canary Capital Registers ETF Tracking Trump-Themed Memecoin
Canary Capital has officially registered a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) designed to follow a memecoin linked to US President Donald Trump.
According to the Delaware State Department website, the company filed paperwork on Wednesday for the Canary Trump Coin ETF. The move hints at plans for a crypto ETF tracking the Official Trump token, although a formal application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may still be months away.
TRUMP Token Among Top Memecoins
The TRUMP token currently holds a market capitalisation of $1.9 billion, making it the 49th largest cryptocurrency overall. Among memecoins, it ranks fifth by market cap — a list that does not include Dogecoin, the original memecoin.
Growing Interest in Memecoin ETFs
Canary Capital’s move comes after asset managers Osprey Funds and REX Shares filed with the SEC in January to launch an ETF tracking the TRUMP memecoin. That filing took place just days after the token’s launch on 21 January.
Dmitrij Radin, founder of Zekret and chief technology officer of Fidium, told Cointelegraph in January that the approval of memecoin-based ETFs is more likely under the current crypto-friendly SEC administration. He added:
“It’s a bold move, potentially bringing more liquidity and mainstream acceptance to memecoins.”
