Maples and Calder (Ireland) LLP, the Maples Group's law firm, has advised the first Irish regulated funds to be granted permission by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) to take exposure to crypto-assets.

The approval will enable two Qualifying Investor AIFs (a category of alternative investment fund which is restricted to professional investors) to obtain indirect exposure to bitcoin, by acquiring cash-settled bitcoin futures which are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
 
This is the first approval of its kind since the CBI published guidance in August 2021 which opened the door to the possibility of Qualifying Investor AIFs investing in crypto-assets, and it follows an extensive bilateral engagement with the CBI to demonstrate how the risks associated with the proposed investment could be adequately addressed.