Swiss regulator FINMA waived diversification rules Tuesday to approve the country’s first spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF for retail investors, five years after clearing a crypto fund limited to qualified investors.

Key Points:

• FINMA approved Switzerland’s first spot Bitcoin ETF open to retail investors but did not name the fund or its issuer.
• The regulator waived standard diversification rules, citing Bitcoin’s long trading history and high trading volume.
• Custody, operational risk and disclosure safeguards apply, and other providers have filed or announced their own applications.

FINMA Bitcoin Exemption

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority said the product is the first publicly offered fund under Swiss investment fund law to…