The world’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund didn’t launch in New York. It didn’t even start in Europe. It opened for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on February 18, 2021, under the ticker BTCC. That day, Canada didn’t just make headlines-it rewrote the rules for how regular people could invest in Bitcoin.
Why Canada Got There First
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission kept delaying Bitcoin ETF approvals over fears of market manipulation and unregulated exchanges, Canada took a different path. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) didn’t wait for perfect conditions. They looked at the growing demand from retail investors and institutional players alike, and asked: How do we give people safe, simple access to Bitcoin? The answer came from Purpose Investments, a Toronto-based asset manager led by CEO Som Seif. They didn’t try to build a futures-based product like later U.S. offerings. Instead, they went straight to the source: actual Bitcoin. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) was designed to hold real Bitcoin, not derivatives. That meant when you bought shares, the fund bought real coins and stored them securely in cold wallets. No middlemen. No contracts. Just direct exposure. This wasn’t just clever-it was revolutionary. For the first time, Canadians could hold Bitcoin inside their TFSA or RRSP accounts. That’s huge. It meant you could buy Bitcoin the same way you buy Apple stock or a gold ETF-through your brokerage, with full regulatory oversight, and with tax advantages built in.The Launch That Shook the Market
The first day of trading, BTCC didn’t just attract attention-it dominated it. By the end of day one, over $200 million had flowed into the fund. Within 48 hours, that number jumped to $400 million. By the end of the first month, assets under management crossed $1 billion. That’s faster than any ETF in Canadian history. The numbers didn’t lie. Retail investors, tired of juggling crypto wallets and exchange apps, flocked to BTCC. Institutions saw it too. Pension funds, family offices, and wealth managers who had avoided Bitcoin because of custody risks suddenly had a compliant, audited vehicle to get exposure. By the end of its first week, Bitcoin ETFs in Canada-mainly BTCC and the Evolve Bitcoin ETF that launched the next day-had traded nearly $1 billion worth of shares. That’s more volume than any other ETF category in Canada that week. TD Securities called it “unprecedented.” The market wasn’t just interested-it was hungry.How It Was Different From Everything Else
Most crypto products before BTCC were either:- Unregulated exchanges with no investor protections
- Closed-end funds with wild price swings and no arbitrage mechanism
- Futures-based ETFs that tracked Bitcoin’s price indirectly, often with high tracking error
What Happened After
The success of BTCC didn’t stop at Canada. It became a blueprint. When the U.S. finally approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, every single one-the BlackRock iShares, Fidelity, VanEck, and others-used the same structure Purpose pioneered: direct custody, physical Bitcoin, creation/redemption mechanism, and eligibility for retirement accounts. Even Europe, which had offered Bitcoin ETPs for years, started shifting toward ETF structures after seeing Canada’s results. The OSC’s regulatory framework proved you could regulate crypto without killing innovation. You just needed clear rules, strong custody standards, and transparency. By February 2024, three years after launch, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF still held over $2 billion in assets. It wasn’t just the first-it remained one of the largest and most trusted Bitcoin investment products in the world.Why It Still Matters Today
Five years later, Bitcoin ETFs are everywhere. But none of them would exist without what happened in Canada on February 18, 2021. Purpose Investments didn’t just launch a product. They solved a real problem: How do you make Bitcoin safe for mainstream investors? They showed regulators that crypto could be held like gold or stocks-with custody, auditing, and legal protections. They proved that retail investors would embrace regulated access. And they gave the world a working model that others copied. Today, if you’re buying a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S., U.K., Australia, or Singapore, you’re using a version of the Canadian model. The structure, the custody rules, the tax treatment-all trace back to BTCC. It’s not just history. It’s the foundation of modern crypto investing.
What You Can Do With It Today
If you’re in Canada, you can still buy BTCC through any major brokerage-Questrade, Wealthsimple, TD Direct Investing. You can hold it in your TFSA, RRSP, or non-registered account. No crypto wallet needed. No private keys to manage. Just buy, hold, and track Bitcoin’s price with full regulatory backing. Outside Canada? You can’t buy BTCC directly. But now you can buy similar ETFs in your country. And if you’re wondering why they look so familiar-it’s because they’re built on the same idea Purpose Investments proved five years ago: Bitcoin doesn’t need to be risky to be powerful.Why This Wasn’t Luck
Some people think Canada got lucky. They didn’t. They had a clear advantage: a regulator willing to engage, a financial industry ready to innovate, and a public that was already using crypto. The OSC didn’t shut down innovation. They worked with Purpose Investments to design safeguards: third-party custodians, daily audits, transparent NAV calculations, and strict anti-money laundering rules. That’s what made institutions comfortable. It wasn’t about being first for the sake of being first. It was about building something that worked-and then letting the market decide. And the market chose it. Loudly.What was the first Bitcoin ETF in Canada?
The first Bitcoin ETF in Canada was the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (ticker: BTCC), launched by Purpose Investments on February 18, 2021. It was also the world’s first spot Bitcoin ETF available to retail investors, holding actual Bitcoin rather than derivatives.
Can I buy Bitcoin ETFs in my TFSA or RRSP in Canada?
Yes. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) and other Canadian Bitcoin ETFs are eligible for registered accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs. This means you can hold Bitcoin in a tax-free or tax-deferred account, just like you would with stocks or mutual funds.
How is Canada’s Bitcoin ETF different from the U.S. ones?
Canada’s first Bitcoin ETF held actual Bitcoin. The first U.S. Bitcoin ETF (ProShares BITO) held Bitcoin futures contracts, not the underlying asset. That meant U.S. investors were exposed to price distortions from futures markets. Canada’s model was direct, transparent, and more accurate to Bitcoin’s real price.
Is the Purpose Bitcoin ETF still active?
Yes. As of 2025, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC) remains one of the largest and most actively traded Bitcoin ETFs globally, with over $2 billion in assets under management as of early 2024. It continues to be a top choice for Canadian investors seeking regulated Bitcoin exposure.
Why did other countries wait so long to approve Bitcoin ETFs?
Regulators in other countries, especially the U.S. SEC, were concerned about market manipulation, custody risks, and the lack of regulation in crypto exchanges. Canada’s solution-using approved custodians, daily audits, and direct Bitcoin holdings-provided a proven framework that eventually convinced others to follow suit.
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