The success of bitcoin spot ETFs in the US, as it turns out, inspired not only the authorities of Hong Kong, but also Australia. There are many indications that bitcoin funds will appear on this market as well.
Australia wants its ETFs
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) is expected to allow spot trading of bitcoin ETF units later this year. Appropriate applications to create such funds were submitted by VanEck Australia and BetaShares.
Everything is happening almost 5 months after ETFs were created in the US and almost at the same time as similar funds are launched in Hong Kong (issue tomorrow, April 30).
Why can such products be considered a success? American ETFs have already collected approximately USD 53 billion, which has been invested in BTC. It is not known how successful Hong Kong products will be, but it will probably be a certain percentage of this amount. During an interview with Cointelegraph, Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome, said that bitcoin ETFs in Australia could absorb between USD 3 and 4 billion within 3 years.
Are ETFs needed? Yes!
Yew explained that demand for ETFs will be driven primarily by fund managers who want exposure to bitcoin and from smaller investors. The latter group is especially important, in his opinion, because today they can invest capital in BTC and then hold coins on cryptocurrency exchanges, which, as he added, is inherently risky and resembles a “ticking time bomb” if these platforms were to collapse. Hence, ETFs should be created to somehow protect these investors.
The Australian Taxation Office says there is over $1 billion of cryptocurrency on exchanges, with most of it coming from (smaller) investors
– he said.
But when will ETFs be created in Australia? The regulators' decision is expected to be made this year. It is not known when exactly. So we can assume that it will be by the end of 2024 at the latest.
