ASX, Australia’s largest stock exchange, lists the first Bitcoin ETF, with first-day trading volume reaching US$1.3 million

Author: Weilin, PA News

On June 20, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed the exchange’s first Bitcoin spot ETF, issued by the American asset management company VanEck, named VanEck Bitcoin ETF, code VBTC. VanEck’s seed investment is approximately A$985,000 (approximately US$657,000). Judging from the first day's performance, the ETF's first trading day trading volume reached 1.3 million US dollars.

ASX accounts for 90% of the Australian stock market and is the largest stock exchange in the country. The listed VBTC is the feeder fund of the $647 million VanEck Bitcoin ETF HODL in the U.S. market. The fund is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and is regulated as a "registered managed investment scheme". It also marks the culmination of more than three years of negotiations between VanEck and Australian regulators. What benefits will relevant developments bring to the market?

Early approval breaks expectations VBTC joins the competition

Bloomberg previously reported that the Australian Securities Exchange may approve the first batch of spot Bitcoin ETFs before the end of 2024. Based on the current results, the approval is earlier than expected.

Previously, ASX’s competitor Australia’s CBOE had launched the Bitcoin Spot ETF (EBTC) issued by Global X in cooperation with 21Shares in April 2022. EBTC does not hold Bitcoin directly. In June this year, CBOE also launched the Bitcoin spot ETF (IBTC) issued by Monochrome Asset Management. Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew said that IBTC is Australia's first Bitcoin spot ETF that directly holds Bitcoin. As of June 18, EBTC’s AUM was AUD 106 million. As of June 19, the single-day AUM of IBTC was 54 BTC, which is approximately 5.36 million Australian dollars.

Meanwhile, an ASX spokesperson said that currently only VanEck has received approval to list a Bitcoin ETF on the exchange, and applications from other issuers are in progress.

Sydney-based BetaShares Holdings Pty and another local company DigitalX are also lining up to list.

DigitalX CEO Lisa Wade said that the company’s spot Bitcoin ETF application is progressing smoothly and is working closely with ASX. She added that in addition to Bitcoin, DigitalX could potentially launch an Ethereum ETF on the ASX. “Ethereum is very much on the radar. We’re just waiting for support from ASX and ASIC,” she said.

Rate competition emerges, VBTC hits $1.3 million in first-day trading volume

VanEck’s Product Disclosure Statement shows its annual management The rate is 0.59%. For comparison, the Global X Bitcoin ETF’s management fee is 1.25%. But for now, Global In comparison, the US-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust charges 0.25%.

Competition among exchanges also continues. In April, Brisbane-based Monochrome Asset Management canceled its pending application to list a Bitcoin ETF on the ASX, choosing instead to go to Cboe's rival Australian exchange, where the ETF was officially listed this month.

On the other hand, VanEck’s application has been in progress for three years. VanEck has been working on bringing a spot Bitcoin ETF to the ASX since early 2021. The investment giant submitted its application to the ASX again in February this year.

Arian Neiron, Head of Asia Pacific at VanEck, said: “We have a long and deep tradition in gold investing, so store-of-value investing is deeply rooted in our DNA. We view Bitcoin as a form of digital gold. ”

Arian Neiron, head of VanEck Asia Pacific

In fact, as early as 2022, Australia’s CBOE approved the ETF launched by the asset management company Cosmos Asset Management. In the same year, Canada-based 3iQ Digital Asset Management launched a Bitcoin spot ETF and an Ethereum spot ETF in Australia, namely the 3iQCoinShares Bitcoin (BTC) Feeder ETF and the 3iQ CoinShares Ether Feeder ETF. Both ETFs are registered in Australia, as well. "Feeder Funds" provide investors with investment opportunities in the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin ETF and 3iQ CoinShares Ether ETF, respectively, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The underlying assets of these two Canadian ETFs are BTC and ETH that are cold-stored by the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange.

Additionally, 3iQ’s Bitcoin Spot ETF and Ethereum Spot ETF were hosted on Australia’s second largest market, Chi-X (now Cboe), rather than ASX, as blockchain and cryptocurrency-related stocks were listed on the ASX at the time Some regulatory difficulties remain.

However, in 2022, these three ETFs were delisted in less than a year due to insufficient demand and poor performance.

With the increasing popularity of Bitcoin and virtual asset investment products, there are reports that Australia’s $2.3 trillion superannuation market may promote the inflow of funds into these ETF products. Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck Australia, said that about a quarter of the country’s superannuation assets are held in self-managed superannuation schemes, which allow individuals to choose their own investment products. Buyers of currency spot ETF funds.

Compared with other markets, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing of the first 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10. As of June 18, the single-day turnover was US$1.7 billion. Hong Kong also launched six virtual asset ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum on April 30. As of June 19, Hong Kong’s three Bitcoin spot ETFs had a single-day turnover of US$3.28 million.

Judging from the performance on the first day, the trading volume of ASX’s first Bitcoin ETF reached US$1.3 million on its first trading day. The total trading volume of the 10 ETFs in the United States on the first day reached US$4.5 billion, with an average of approximately US$450 million per fund. Although well below the first-day performance of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, interest in Bitcoin ETFs is surging in Australia, and a new trend is affecting more markets.

Despite the difference in market size, VanEck is optimistic about the growth prospects of the ETF issued in Australia, predicting that it will have a growth trend similar to the US spot Bitcoin ETF. "Although the Australian market is much smaller than the US and most of our inflows are from retail investors rather than institutional investors, it is possible that we will follow a similar path," said Jamie, deputy head of investments and capital markets at VanEck Australia Hannah expressed more positive expectations.

The above is the detailed content of ASX, Australia’s largest stock exchange, lists the first Bitcoin ETF, with first-day trading volume reaching US$1.3 million. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!