Australia’s First Direct Bitcoin ETF to Launch on June 4th

Australian investment management company Monochrome Asset Management will soon launch the country’s first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds BTC. The Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) will be available for trading on CBOE Australia on June 4th. This move comes after several local companies showed interest in the financial product.

First Direct Bitcoin ETF in Australia

Explaining how the incoming ETF product will be the first to enable direct BTC exposure, Monochrome’s announcement stated:

“Before IBTC, Australian investors were only able to invest in ETFs that indirectly hold bitcoin or through offshore bitcoin products, both of which don’t benefit from the investor protection rules under the directly held crypto asset Australian Financial Services Licensing (AFSL) licensing regime.”

Monochrome’s efforts to own a direct Bitcoin ETF trail back to early April when the investment company announced its plan to apply for the IBTC product with the stock exchange, CBOE Australia.

In April, Cointab reported that financial companies like VanEck, DigitalX, and BetaShares have applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), a local stock exchange rivalling CBOE Australia. On the other hand, the fund manager Global X ETFs launched its Bitcoin ETF in the country in collaboration with CBOE Australia.

Australian financial laws mandate investment companies seek approval from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and an exchange listing before entering the market. With Monochrome soon to launch its Bitcoin-backed ETF product, the company has gained approval from ASIC. The company even hosted an event in late May to celebrate the upcoming financial product.

Bitcoin ETFs in Other Regions

Staying ahead of Australia in the Bitcoin ETF business are the United States and Hong Kong. Since January 10th, U.S.-based companies have recorded massive inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, reaching billions of dollars. On the other hand, the Hong Kong market has mostly underperformed as a continuous outflow has ensued. It remains to be seen how the Australian market will take the soon-to-launch spot Bitcoin ETF.