London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - March 8, 2024) - Fineqia International Inc. (CSE: FNQ) (OTC Pink: FNQQF) (FSE: FNQA) (the "Company" or "Fineqia"), a digital asset and fintech investment business, announces that its analysis of worldwide Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) with digital assets as underlying collateral, revealed Assets Under Management (AUM) reached a record $80.5 billion, a 55% increase from $52 billion during February.

This 55% rise in Feb. was nearly 50% higher than the increase in the value of underlying crypto assets, which grew slower at 37% to about $2.37 trillion from $1.73 trillion. The premium is largely credited to the approval of BTC Spot ETFs in the United States, which began trading on Jan. 11. Increased capital inflows drove ETPs to this new high that exceeded the previous top AUM of $58.5 billion reached at the end of 2021 by 38%.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, is the mantra," said Fineqia's CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar. "Old school fund managers risk ignoring Bitcoin's unprecedented returns over the past 15 years at their own peril. The legitimisation of the coin via spot ETFs, likely easing of interest rates and reduced token supply are all likely to support its rising price."

The New Liberty Standard Exchange recorded the first exchange of Bitcoin in late 2009 for $0.00099 per Bitcoin, i.e. about one-tenth of one cent. It currently trades for about $67,000.

Ten new BTC Spot ETFs featuring issuers such as BlackRock, 21Shares and Grayscale attracted $7.4 billion in net inflows since their inception. Grayscale Bitcoin ETF (GBTC)'s led the pack with approx. $26.5 billion in AUM. It previously traded as a Trust before being converted into an ETF when it experienced $8.9 billion in outflows offsetting the total $16.3 billion inflows into the new ETFs.

BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) garnered $10 billion in AUM over the two months to March 1, the fastest ETF ever to reach this milestone. About $8 billion was attributed to in net inflows and $2.3 billion to Bitcoin's price upswing. That implied an average daily AUM increase of almost $300 million over thirty-five trading days.

By contrast, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the first Gold ETF that began trading in the U.S. in Nov. 2004, took more than two years to reach $10 billion in AUM. BTC Spot ETFs seem to be driving up the price of Bitcoin that's increasingly viewed by investors as "digital gold," unlike physical gold whose price is connected with central bank reserves and industrial demand.

"The institutional race is on and it's driving demand," said Fineqia's CEO Rangar. "The high uptake of ETFs is causing its issuers to soak up available BTC supply in the market, driving up prices. And it looks like there might still be some more room to stretch along the price elasticity curve."

In Feb., the price of BTC increased by 41.4%, rising to $61,250 from $43,300 at the end of Jan. During the same time, the AUM of ETPs with BTC as the underlying asset saw a 59.5% increase, to $60.6 billion from $38.0 billion recorded at the end of Jan. BTC-backed ETPs make up about 4.9% of the total BTC supply. The ten newly introduced BTC Spot ETFs, holding 3.9% of the supply that's valued at $48.2 billion, highlight their substantial influence on the recent market uptrend.

During Feb., Ethereum (ETH) rose 46.9% in value to $3,473 from $2,365 recorded at the end of Jan. In the same period, ETH-denominated ETPs AUM increased 46% to $14.0 billion from $9.6 billion on Jan. 31. It's important to note that seven issuers applied for an ETH Spot ETF, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed decisions on Blackrock and Fidelity's filings. The SEC must decide by the end of May 2024, as three filings have a final deadline that week.

ETPs representing a diversified basket of cryptocurrencies increased 41.4% in AUM during February, to $3.01 billion, from $2.17 billion recorded at the end of Jan.

ETPs representing an index of alternative coins increased by 27.1% in January to $2.83 billion from $2.22 billion recorded at the beginning of the year. Solana (SOL) remains the dominant force in this index, comprising nearly half of the alternative coins AUM. ETPs with SOL as the underlying asset experienced a 25.3% increase in AUM, to $1.26 billion from $1.01 billion recorded at the end of Jan.

ETPs include Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs). Fineqia Research's AUM calculation factors in the launch or closure of ETPs during any stated period. The number of tracked ETPs stood at 180 as of the end of February.

All references to price are quoted in USD, and the cryptocurrency prices are sourced from CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko.

The ETP and ETF AUM data referenced in this announcement were compiled from reputable sources, including 21Shares AG, Grayscale Investment LLC, VanEck Associates Corp., Morningstar, Inc., and TrackInSight SAS, by Fineqia's dedicated in-house research department.

About Fineqia International Inc.

Fineqia () is a digital asset business that builds and targets investments in early and growth stage technology companies that will be part of the next generation of the Internet. Publicly listed in Canada (CSE: FNQ) with offices in Vancouver and London, Fineqia's portfolio of investments includes businesses at the forefront of tokenization, blockchain technology, NFTs, AI, and fintech. Fineqia's VC fund in formation, Glass Ventures, backs category-defining Web 4.0 companies built by world-class entrepreneurs.

Media Contacts

Angus Campbell
Nominis Advisory
angus@nominis.co

Athraa Bheekoo
Luna PR
Athraa@lunapr.io

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Katarina Kupcikova, Marketing & Communications Manager
E. katarina.kupcikova@fineqia.com
T. +44 7806 730 769

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information (as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Fineqia (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the failure to obtain sufficient financing, and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.