Australia set to unveil first spot Bitcoin ETFs by 2024

Australia is due to launch the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs that will be available by the end of 2024. Based on the Bloomberg revelation, which highlights a clear indication that ASX will give a green light to the aforementioned financial products. This has come to represent a turning point as local and international players alike eagerly compete to capture the Australian Bitcoin exchange-traded fund market.

At present, BetaShares, an Australian financial entity, has an ETF spot under creation, with ASX being the targeted market. Also, DigitalX Ltd jointly stated that it had initiated the procedure following their announcement made in February. Similarly, yet another American firm – VanEck, which is a global investment manager that already oversees the Bitcoin ETFs in the United States and Europe – is back with its proposal to enter this market.

The ASX officer confirms that the process is already underway with different possible issuers for listing new crypto-ETFs. However, the officials should have given concrete information about the negotiations during their briefing.

Australia eyes new Bitcoin ETF opportunities

This effort is not the first time it has concerned Australia’s experience in approving the creation of a Bitcoin ETF. Australia’s Cosmos Asset Management played an important role in the launching of the first ever Bitcoin spot exchange, which was hosted by CBOE, the smaller one of the two exchanges, two years ago. On the downside, however, the lack of interest in the investors led to the fund closure and its delisting from the exchange in late 2022.

However, the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF accrued a little over $62 billion in assets. The spotlight is currently on the ASX, which would attract investors if it allowed the Bitcoin spot ETF. In this regard, Monochrome Asset Management is currently working on Bitcoin ETFs on the CBOE.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs reach $53 billion

It is also just as fast-changing a story about the global landscape of investment products related to cryptocurrencies. On April 24, 2023, the market capitalization of US ETFs that track the underlying currency of Bitcoin, so-called spot Bitcoin ETFs, amounts to approximately 53 billion US dollars. On April 3, the city of Hong Kong plans to seize the limelight by unveiling a combined Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF, with active trading to begin not long afterward.

Moreover, Chinese fund managers have started planning to launch their own cryptocurrency ETF spot for both Bitcoin and Ether, following the lead of this method, which has proven successful among similar American funds. 

The London Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom has announced to receive crypto exchange-traded note (ETN) applications from early April as a preparation measure. ETNs, just like ETFs, allow for the trading of crypto-assets-related assets on the major exchanges which give regulated ways for the investors to gain cryptocurrency exposure.

Australia’s decision to welcome fund-based spot Bitcoin ETFs shows how digital currencies are now viewed as part of the traditional financial system in that there is an organized and structured way to invest in this asset class. When such products are about to be released, they may change the investing scene in Australia and contribute to the maturity of the global cryptocurrency markets.