The mutual-fund manager’s global asset-management arm has joined forces with cryptocurrency investor Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Capital Management to launch the CI Galaxy Bitcoin Fund, which went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday morning with a US$72-million offering. The fund opened at US$10, and dropped slightly by midday. (The Logic)

Talking point: CI Galaxy’s public debut comes on a day that Bitcoin hit another new record, surging past the US$20,000 mark. The fund gives retail investors exposure to Bitcoin without having to buy the digital currency directly. Galaxy Digital will act as a sub-advisor and execute all Bitcoin trading on behalf of the fund. CIBC Capital Markets led the IPO. “This fund is the latest step in [CI Global Asset Management’s] strategy to modernize its business, which includes providing investors with the benefits of a broad choice of high-quality alternative investment options,” said Kurt Alpine, CEO of CI Financial. The CI Galaxy fund is just the third cryptocurrency fund to list on a major Canadian stock exchange, after a November 2019 decision by the Ontario Securities Commission that cleared the way for publicly traded Bitcoin investment funds. In April, 3iQ’s The Bitcoin Fund listed on the TSX. The crypto company’s second fund, The Ether Fund, went public on the TSX last week, raising US$76.5 million.