The first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Australia is set to start trading on April 27. A report from the Australian Financial Review shows that this ETF will attract up to $1 billion worth of inflows.
Australia launches first Bitcoin ETF
An ETF is a financial product that enables investors to track the price of Bitcoin without owning any coins. Cosmos Asset Management is the company behind the first Bitcoin ETF in Australia. The company managed to get regulatory approval for its ETF ahead of other companies like VanEck and BetaShares. These firms have been awaiting the greenlight for their ETFs since March.
The Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF will be listed on CBOE Australia after approval from the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX). The approval was granted after Cosmos received a minimum of the four market participants needed to support a 42% margin requirement to cover risk.
The Cosmos Bitcoin ETF provides indirect exposure to Bitcoin investments made using the Canadian Purpose Bitcoin ETF. The ETF is already attracting interest, with one trader at Zerocap wealth management firm, Kurt Grumelart, saying that the ETF was exciting and would signal further adoption of cryptocurrencies.
The Betashares CRYP fund that invests in US shares was launched in November last year, and it garnered $10M in net inflows in just ten minutes. “The event marks a large step forward for Australia and mainstream acceptance of the crypto industry as a whole,” the announcement added.
Grumelart said that the launch of this ETF would result in more players joining the sector, similarly to what has happened in other countries where crypto ETFs have been approved. This is the second crypto-related ETF released by Cosmos since 2021 after the firm issued the Global Digital Miners Access ETF.
Crypto regulations in Australia
Regulators in Australia have been committed to formulating clear rules for the cryptocurrency sector over the past year. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is seeking authority over the sector, but according to Senator Andrew Bragg, such authority was inappropriate. The regulator would be granted full authority after cryptocurrencies have been legalized.
There have been calls to formulate solid and clear rules for the crypto sector. A clear regulatory framework is bound to support the growth of the cryptocurrency industry. Despite the lack of clear regulations, cryptocurrency adoption in Australia has continued to grow. The growth is evidenced by the large investments expected to flow into the country’s first Bitcoin ETF.
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