According to money.bg, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE) is opening its doors to cryptocurrencies, offering the possibility of investing in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The exchange made it clear that investors will not be able to buy cryptocurrencies directly, but rather securities in the form of ETPs (ехсhаngе-trаdеd products) and ЕТСs (ехсhаngе-trаdеd соmmоdіtу), which will have crypto as underlying assets.
ETPs are estimated to have 2% annual management fees, but they have a big advantage that ETFs that trade on Wall Street don’t have. ETPs track and move along with the spot market in real time. They are not based on futures contracts (futures).
The movement of the BSE does not seem to be isolated from the general government policy. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev announced that the government intends to explore cryptocurrency payment techniques.
Bulgaria’s history With Bitcoin
Bulgaria’s relationship with cryptocurrencies has a mysterious history dating back to May 2017. It was then that authorities announced that 213,519 Bitcoin were seized from miners operating illegally, arresting 23 Bulgarian nationals.
What’s curious is that although the Southeastern Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) confirmed the news, Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev denied that there was a seizure.
His statement was backed up by Ivailo Spiridonov, then director of the country’s anti-organised crime agency.
Gchesev does not seem to be the most trustworthy man in the world. In the past year, thousands of Bulgarians flooded the streets of major cities protesting corruption, naming him as responsible and demanding his resignation from the office he held.
Since the incident was recorded, the trail of the Bitcoin that was allegedly seized has been missing.
There are only rumors that they were sold. Earlier this year, MP Ivaylo Marchev requested information on the matter from the Interior Minister, but has yet to receive a response.
The only official information available is that Finance Minister Asen Vasilev has ordered the National Revenue Service and the National Customs Service to carry out audits.
If the Bulgarian authorities are still in possession of them, it would mean that the country is one of the biggest “whales”. Their value at the moment equals around EUR 8.5 billion. Not a small amount, especially when we are talking about a country with a GDP of 60 billion.
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