VanEck, the New York-based investment management firm with around $50 billion in assets under management, has launched a bitcoin exchange-traded-note (ETN) for trading on the Deutsche Boerse Xetra.

Listed on the Frankfurt, Germany-based trading venue Wednesday, the VanEck Vectors Bitcoin ETN (VBTC) is physically backed by bitcoin and tracks the MVIS CryptoCompare Bitcoin VWAP Close index.

"Bringing to market a physical, fully-backed major exchange-listed bitcoin ETP [exchange-traded product] was a top priority of our firm," Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital-asset strategy at VanEck, said. "We hope to serve many clients and partners in Europe, Asia and across the world using our innovative, investment-friendly and regulatory-conscious access vehicles."

An ETN is a type of unsecured debt security payable to the bearer that tracks an underlying asset or an index. In effect, investors can gain exposure to an asset class without owning it.

See also: Deutsche Borse Exchange to List New Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product

VanEck has partnered with Liechtenstein-based crypto custodian Bank Frick for secure bitcoin storage services. The total cost associated with managing and operating the instrument, or the total expense ratio, is 2%. The investment product is currently limited to investors from Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K.

There are now three bitcoin ETNs listed on Xetra. ETC Group was first listed in late June, followed by crypto ETP issuer 21Shares in July.

The firm's decision to launch an ETN comes after several failed attempts to win approval for an exchange-traded fund, or ETF, from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.