Key Takeaways
- The approval comes six months after the U.S. SEC approved 10 Bitcoin ETFs.
- The VanEck Bitcoin ETF, trading under the ticker VBTC, will begin on Thursday, June 20.
Australia’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to commence trading on the ASX stock exchange next week. The VanEck Bitcoin ETF, trading under the ticker VBTC, will begin on Thursday, June 20, offering investors direct exposure to Bitcoin’s spot price.
Commenting on the development,Arian Neiron, VanEck’s CEO for the Asia-Pacific region, emphasized that the growing demand for Bitcoin exposure in Australia through “a regulated, transparent and familiar investment vehicle.”
“We recognize Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many advisers and investors want to access,” Neiron stated. “VBTC also makes bitcoin more accessible by managing all the back-end complexity. Understanding the technical aspects of acquiring, storing, and securing digital assets is no longer necessary,” he added.
The ASX’s general manager of investment products, Andrew Campion, commented that it had taken years to reach a stage where spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved.
“We got reasonably close to having one two years ago, just before the crypto winter started, but with the recovery of crypto prices, we’ve had a fair bit of interest over the last 12 months, and that’s culminated in the approval”, Andrew added.
This approval by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is notable as the first instance of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved in the country. However, it’s not Australia’s first foray into Bitcoin-related ETFs.
In the past two years, other Bitcoin ETFs have launched, with Global X’s bitcoin ETF being the best-performing listed ETF in Australia over the last 12 months, delivering a return of 153.5 percent driven by strong gains in the broader crypto market.
Earlier this month, on June 4, Monochrome Asset Management, an Australian investment firm, launched the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF on CBOE Australia. Additionally, BetaShares Holdings Pty and DigitalX Ltd are preparing for listings on the ASX, indicating rising demand for Bitcoin investments.
The global trend towards spot Bitcoin ETFs gained momentum following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs. This move triggered countries like Hong Kong, South Korea, and now Australia to consider launching their own spot Bitcoin ETFs.
This development also comes amid Australia’s regulatory body looking to incorporate stablecoin legislation into its broader legislative framework for the digital assets sector.
Australia’s Treasury had earlier announced plans release draft legislation to cover licensing and custody rules for crypto asset providers by the end of 2024. As per the latest update, the draft will likely now include a framework to regulate stablecoins.
