Australia’s First Spot Ether ETF Is Going Live Today

Australian investment firm Monochrome Asset Management is set to introduce the country’s first spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the CBOE exchange. 

Monochrome hosted a private event in Sydney this week with our service providers, team, and partners to mark the upcoming launch of the Monochrome Ethereum ETF (Ticker: IETH).#Ethereum #ETF $IETH pic.twitter.com/VAPOgZcPGr

— Monochrome (@MonochromeAsset) October 10, 2024

Trading for the ETF, dubbed IETH, is scheduled to commence on Monday 10 PM UTC or Tuesday at 10 AM AEDT. IETH comes a few months after Monochrome’s successful rollout of its Bitcoin ETF, IBTC, which has attracted $15 million AUD ($10.1 million USD) since its August debut.

Steady Investor Interest 

Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew noted that the new ETF leverages a dual-access bare trust structure to enhance tax efficiency. The structure enables long-term Ether holders to transfer their assets into IETH without triggering capital gains tax.

Although the Australian market may not experience as much adoption as the US following the approval of multiple crypto ETFs, Monochrome anticipates steady investor interest. 

According to reports, IETH will follow the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate – Asia Pacific Variant and charge a management fee of 0.50%. Accredited advisers will have access to a reduced fee of 0.21%, comparable to similar funds in the US, where fees range from 0.20% to 0.25%.

BitGo and Gemini to Act as Custody

The ETF will be available through most Australian brokerage platforms and support transfers from decentralized wallets, cold wallets, and various crypto platforms. BitGo and Gemini will manage custody services, while State Street Australia will serve as the fund administrator.

Like the spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, IETH will allow both cash and in-kind applications and redemptions, enabling investors to buy into or exit the fund using Ether.

Comparatively, Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs held $262.97 million and $35.07 million in net assets as of October 10, respectively, while US-based ETFs managed $58.66 billion in Bitcoin and $6.74 billion in Ether, respectively, according to SoSoValue. Despite the global trend, most non-US. Spot crypto ETFs haven’t attracted much inflows.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission recently indicated that it might consider allowing crypto ETFs following the international shift toward these funds.