News
The Bitcoin ETF launches on Australia’s major exchange for the first time
By Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched for the first time on Australia’s main stock market on Thursday as fund managers launch products to cater to investors returning to cryptocurrency markets after a price boom .
The VanEck Bitcoin ETF launched with about AU$990,000 ($660,429) in assets on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the culmination of more than three years of negotiations 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 branch also manages 12 similar cryptocurrency funds.
Investors poured billions of dollars into cryptocurrency ETFs in the United States after regulators approved several products in January. Hong Kong followed in April with the launch of six funds, although interest was more muted.
VanEck Australia said the green light from US regulators in March triggered a surge in inquiries from brokers and financial advisers for similar products.
The price of bitcoin has nearly tripled since 2023, although prices have remained stagnant since peaking in March.
A competing exchange in Australia operated by the local branch of CBOE 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 the ribbon with some of the country’s best-known companies such as BHP and Commonwealth Bank.
($1 = 1.4990 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Christopher Cushing)