Thursday saw the debut of Australia’s first three cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with Bitcoin and Ethereum products to the stock market.
Cosmos Asset Management’s Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC) keeps track of the Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC-B.TO) on the Toronto stock market.
The other two funds, founded by Australian ETFS Management (AUS) Ltd. and Swiss 21Shares AG, keep a close eye on the underlying asset directly and spot-trade Bitcoin (EBTC) and Ether (EETH).
The debut of the three bitcoin products was initially set for April 27, but brokerage worries led to last-minute delays.
Cosmos said that it would not charge investors any fees on their assets for two months due to the postponed debut.
The debut of ETFs coincides with a volatile period for the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin and Ethereum reaching their lowest point in 2022 on Thursday morning, Asia Standard Time.
Australia launches its first Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs. Photo: Reuters / DADO RUVIC
At press time, CBTC was trading at AU$7.94 (US$5.49), EBTC at AU$4.25 (US$2.94), and EETH at AU$3.04 (US$2.10).
Graham Tuckwell, Executive Chairman of ETF Securities Australia, said that EBTC and EETH allowed investors to trade cryptocurrencies in a closely regulated environment without setting up and maintaining their bitcoin or Ethereum wallets or handling the associated risks.
“Once we decided to build a range of crypto ETFs for the Australian market, there was only one partner we wanted to work with, and that’s 21Shares. Its pioneering approach to secure investment in cryptocurrency has been emulated by other fund managers around the world,” Tuckwell said in the statement.