Bitcoin
Bitcoin ETF launches for the first time on Australia’s main stock exchange By Reuters
By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched on Australia’s main stock market for the first time on Thursday, as fund managers launch products to satisfy investors returning to cryptocurrency markets after a boom in prices.
The VanEck ETF launched with around A$990,000 ($660,429) in assets on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the culmination of more than three years of trading with the ASX operator.
The fund will not own bitcoin directly, but will invest in the US-listed VanEck Bitcoin Trust, which launched in January. VanEck’s European subsidiary also manages 12 similar cryptocurrency funds.
Investors poured billions of dollars into U.S. cryptocurrency ETFs after regulators approved several products in January. Hong Kong followed in April with the launch of six funds, although interest was more moderate.
VanEck Australia said in March that the green light from US regulators had triggered a surge in requests from brokers and financial advisers for similar products.
The price of bitcoin has nearly tripled since 2023, although prices have stagnated since peaking in March.
A competing exchange in Australia run by local CBOE subsidiary Global Markets already hosts several bitcoin ETFs.
However, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF is the first fund to launch on the main exchange, where it will share tickertape with some of the country’s best-known corporations such as BHP and Commonwealth Bank.
($1 = 1.4990 Australian dollars)