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Australia is on track to follow in the footsteps of the United States and Hong Kong by listing a batch of spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Anonymous sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the top equity exchange in Australia, is expected to greenlight a handful of Bitcoin ETFs before the end of 2024.
As the largest stock exchange in Australia, ASX accounts for at least 80% of the country’s equity trading, Bloomberg reported. Several prospective issuers, including VanEck and local companies BetaShares and DigitalX, have already submitted paperwork for their ETF applications earlier this year.
This development comes as the global interest in crypto-based ETFs soars, bolstered by considerable accumulations in similar funds in the United States, where Wall Street titans like BlackRock and Fidelity dominate. These US-based ETF products have amassed $53.16 billion in assets under management since their listing on the Nasdaq in January.
“The inflows into the US digital assets market prove that digital assets are here to stay,” asserted the head of digital assets for BetaShares, Justin Arzadon. He also noted that the company has already secured ASX tickers for spot Bitcoin and spot Ethereum ETFs.
Meanwhile, funds that give investors direct exposure to Bitcoin and Ether received the regulatory nod to commence trading in Hong Kong on April 30.
Another factor behind the ETF move could be Australia’s $2.3 trillion pension market. Roughly a quarter of the country’s retirement assets are in self-managed superannuation programs, which could become key buyers of the spot crypto funds, Jamie Hannah, VanEck Australia’s deputy head of investments and capital markets, told Bloomberg.
Hannah believes the Australian crypto ETF market could grow substantially with the combined interest from self-managed super funds, brokers, financial advisers, and platform money.
However, the exact timeline for the ETF approvals has yet to be officially confirmed by the ASX.
Previous Attempts And Difficulties
Australia’s efforts towards welcoming spot BTC ETFs have been rife with setbacks. Prior attempts to introduce similar investment products on the smaller CBOE Australia platform were unsuccessful.
North Sydney-based cryptocurrency fund manager Cosmos Asset Management launched spot BTC and ETH ETFs in 2022, but they were eventually delisted due to meagre inflows. Moreover, the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF — also launched on CBOE Australia in 2022 — has only fetched about $62 million in assets.
Despite these hurdles, some crypto enthusiasts are betting that the debut on the more prominent ASX platform will give these crypto ETFs greater visibility and possibly higher inflows due to the Australian Securities Exchange’s much bigger trading volumes and wider investor base.
Bitcoin was trading 1.6% lower at around $62,542 on Monday, well below the $73,737 peak in March.