The first-place Bitcoin ETF has been approved by the Australian Securities Exchange.
Crypto

The first-place Bitcoin ETF has been approved by the Australian Securities Exchange.

The VanEck Bitcoin ETF will begin trading on June 20 after receiving approval from the Australian Securities Exchange. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the country’s biggest stock market, has authorised the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is scheduled to be live on June 20.

According to a VanEck news release, the investment firm VanEck will be the issuer of the spot Bitcoin ETF, known as the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC). It occurs just a few months after the company was given permission to begin trading spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US on January 11—the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL).

Arian Neiron, CEO of VanEck in the Asia-Pacific area, reaffirmed that there is a growing need in Australia for exposure to Bitcoin, particularly through a “regulated, transparent and familiar investment vehicle.” Neiron stated, “We acknowledge that Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many investors and advisers want to access.” Additionally, by handling all the back-end complexity, VBTC increases the accessibility of bitcoin.

It is no longer required to comprehend the technical requirements of obtaining, preserving, and safeguarding digital assets, he continued.

While this is the first time the ASX has approved a spot Bitcoin ETF, over the last two years, there have been two prior launches of Bitcoin ETFs in Australia. The second-largest stock exchange in Australia, the Cboe Australia exchange, recently approved and began trading the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC). On June 4, the Cboe Australia exchange opened for business, and the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF began trading.

According to Monochrome, IBTC assets are kept offline using a crypto custody solution that complies with “Australian institutional custody regulatory standards” on a device that isn’t linked to the internet. The Global X 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) had its Australian debut in April 2022, making it the first Bitcoin ETF product.