KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27): Fintonia Group, a Singapore-based fund manager regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has launched two institutional-grade Bitcoin (BTC) funds.

Citing an announcement by Fintonia, cryptocurrency news portal Cointelegraph on Friday (Nov 26) said the new funds, the Fintonia Bitcoin Physical Fund and the Fintonia Secured Yield Fund, are intended to provide simple and secure exposure to Bitcoin for professional investors.

It quoted Fintonia founder and chairman Adrian Chng as saying the funds are live and investors can subscribe and redeem regularly as they are open-ended funds, similar to a mutual fund.

"The funds are only available for accredited investors," he said.

The report said the Fintonia Bitcoin Physical Fund targets institutional investors seeking direct exposure to Bitcoin, allowing them to buy, store and sell large amounts of the cryptocurrency.

“The fund acquires physical Bitcoin, meaning we will buy the actual Bitcoin rather than a derivative instrument of Bitcoin,” said Chng.

The Fintonia Secured Yield Fund, on the other hand, provides investors with access to private loans secured by Bitcoin.

“Bitcoin is an excellent form of collateral for loans. It trades 24/7 and is highly liquid, with approximately US$30 billion (about RM127.17 billion) to US$60 billion per day.

“If required, it can be quickly liquidated in comparison to, for example, commodities and real assets,” Chng said.

Both funds rely on a third-party licensed custodian storing clients’ cryptocurrencies on cold wallets.

Investments are also insured against theft and hacking, the company said.

Fintonia aims to reduce crypto-to-fiat friction as an MAS-regulated fund manager that complies with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering requirements.

Fintonia is a regulated financial services firm founded in 2014 with a focus on financial technology (fintech).

Chng said that Fintonia had been involved in cryptocurrencies since the early days and now specifically focuses on cryptocurrencies as it "had evolved into a separate asset class”.

Cointelegraph said the MAS did not immediately respond to a request for comments.