The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the largest stock exchange in Australia, may approve several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the end of this year.
Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that VanEck Australia and local ETF-focused fund manager BetaShares will likely approve their Bitcoin ETF applications, following the trend set by fund issuers in the United States and Hong Kong.
This surge in spot Bitcoin ETF applications follows the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, where eleven separate products have amassed around $53 billion in assets under management (AUM).
“The significant investments in U.S.-based products have given us the confidence to introduce these products in Australia, demonstrating that digital assets are here to stay,” stated Justin Arzadon, BetaShares’ head of digital.
Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome, a crypto asset management firm with an application on a competing exchange, described Australia as a “very crypto-heavy country.” However, he anticipates that Australian spot Bitcoin ETFs will attract between $3 billion to $4 billion in net inflows within the first three years.
Yew elaborated that the demand for Bitcoin ETFs would primarily come from fund managers seeking exposure to Bitcoin, self-managed super fund (SMSF) investors, and a smaller but still significant interest from retail investors.
Bitcoin ETFs: Safer SMSF Investment
According to him, self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) investors currently have direct exposure to BTC through crypto exchanges, which he views as inherently risky and akin to a ‘ticking time bomb’ if these exchanges were to collapse.
He mentioned, ‘The Australian Taxation Office states that there is over $1 billion worth of crypto on exchanges, with the majority of it coming from SMSF investors.’
In contrast, Yew stated that Bitcoin ETFs provide these investors access to heavily regulated and, thus, safer exposure to digital assets.
However, Monochrome initially applied for a Bitcoin ETF spot with the ASX on July 14 last year. Still, it later shifted to Cboe Australia, a much smaller exchange, due to the slow approval process at the ASX.
We transitioned to Cboe because it provides a more realistic timeframe and a transparent listing framework.
It’s widely known that ASX has faced recent regulatory challenges,” Yew stated. “I believe there’s limited appetite to introduce new products.
Yew anticipates that Cboe Australia will approve his firm’s application “in the next few weeks.”
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