ASX Welcomes Australia’s First Metaverse ETF from Betashares

Wednesday, Betashares, an Australian supplier of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced the introduction of the first metaverse-themed product on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The BetaShares Metaverse ETF listing recently exposed a portfolio of global enterprises in the metaverse’s construction, development, and management.

MTAV will seek to replicate the performance of the Bloomberg Metaverse Select Index by providing exposure to a portfolio of 32 firms. These businesses, which include NVIDIA, Roblox, and Meta Platforms, are focused on earning a significant portion of their revenues through metaverse-related activities.

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Metaverses, also known as digital worlds, intersect virtual reality, gaming, artificial intelligence, advertising, digital currency, and tokens.

Meta, previously known as Facebook, announced a second-quarter loss of $2.8 billion due to its Reality Labs. However, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the long-term outlook for metaverse games and endeavours.

According to BetaShares CEO Alex Vynokur, as the breadth of technologies underlying the metaverse expands and user growth increases, this secular trend is predicted to revolutionise how we interact with sport, live music, and other methods of staying connected.

While yet in its infancy, the metaverse has the potential to become one of the most significant secular growth patterns in the coming decades.

Bullish in a bear market

Betashares joins other providers, such as ProShares and Global X, to profit from the potential expansion of virtual worlds, which is projected to generate $800 billion annually by 2024.

VERS, the metaverse ETF from ProShares, is down 10% since its introduction in March, while Global X’s fund, VR, is down 7% since its debut in late April. The tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 index has declined almost 20% this year.

In any event, Betashares’ entry into the metaverse coincides with the May listing of Australia’s first spot bitcoin and ether ETFs by issuer 21Shares. Meanwhile, the United States has yet to issue its spot bitcoin ETF, much to the dismay of market players. The United States has listed numerous bitcoin futures-based ETFs.

Market factors, including nonfungible tokens (NFTs), continue to afflict the beleaguered industry. According to the NFT gaming platform Balthazar, which analysed four of the industry’s leading NFT marketplaces ( Magic Eden, LooksRare, OpenSea, and Solanart), the total sales volume for July was $676 million, over US$6 billion less than January’s sales volume of approximately US$7 billion.

Despite market difficulties, Betashares remained confident in the potential of the metaverse. The firm stated that firms seeking to stay connected with their consumers must spend more resources on their metaverse strategy.