Betashares will also step up its plans to launch an ETF on the ASX if the first products are listed in the US, a decision that was expected overnight Australian time.
Australia's alternative exchange, run by Cboe, listed ETFs for two other local crypto asset managers, Global X and Cosmos Asset Management, in early 2022. The Global , while Cosmos removed your offer from the list in December with low volumes.
Jeff Yew, chief executive of Monochrome Asset Management, which applied to the ASX in July to issue a bitcoin ETF product. Michael Quelch
The poor performance of Cboe-listed bitcoin ETFs was compounded by the collapse of the Terra coin in 2022, triggering an industry-wide bear market and causing investors to exit the asset class.
Issuers also said volumes were limited by ASX Clear's margin requirements, making the products unattractive for brokers to recommend by exposing them to intraday movements in the price of bitcoin, along with insurance and custody imposed by ASIC.
โIn the case of ETFs whose underlying assets are direct holdings in cryptocurrencies [like] โBitcoin margin levels are calibrated to reflect the price risk of the specific underlying cryptocurrency, as this drives the price risk of the ETF, rather than the issuer of the ETF,โ the ASX spokesperson said.
The ASX has already allowed a Betashares ETF to be listed that invests in companies that serve the cryptocurrency market, rather than the underlying price of bitcoin. It has around $120 million in funds under management.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, has previously expressed concerns about bitcoin. AP
The price of bitcoin rose 155 percent during the last three months of last year, driven mainly by the expected approval of ETFs in the United States. It was trading at just over $45,900 on Wednesday, up 9 percent since early January.
The SEC's decision was topic of confusion on Wednesday, after the regulator appeared to approve the ETFs before clarifying that the announcement was unauthorized. The post on X said the products were approved, prompting the regulator to clarify that no decision had been made.
Those in the industry say the SEC's final approval signals the arrival of cryptocurrencies as a mainstream asset class that can be recommended by financial advisors.
The additional demand could cause the price of bitcoin to skyrocket.
Large retail brokerages like CommSec will now have to decide whether US-listed bitcoin ETFs will be made available to local investors through online trading platforms. The big names behind the products could speed up decisions to provide access.
Henrik Andersson, chief investment officer at Apollo Crypto, which runs a fund for wealthy Australians and family offices, said US listings "will be a game-changer and will have implications for Australian asset managers and the way they "Australians think about cryptocurrencies as a potential new asset." class".
'Onerous requirements'
"It will be much easier for investment advisors, institutions such as retirement funds and retail investors to access this new asset class," he said.
VanEck, who was also trying to get a bitcoin EFT listed in Australia in 2022, said the ASX's clearing requirements "are quite onerous for market participants such as brokers, which makes it difficult for the economy."
โFurthermore, there are almost no digital asset custodians in Australia who meet custodian requirements, again contributing to the difficulty surrounding direct exposure to spot bitcoin in this market,โ he said.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, has previously expressed concern about bitcoin, but indicated that the regulator was forced to support listings after a court decision last August found that its "denial of Grayscale's proposal was arbitrary and capricious because the commission did not explain its different treatment. of similar products.
ASIC Chairman Joe Longo has also criticized cryptocurrencies. But the local regulator gave the go-ahead for publicly traded EFT products in October 2021, as long as providers had insurance requirements in place and complied with ASX rules.
Bitcoin ETFs will increase their distribution as a product recommended by more financial advisors.
โBecause custody and ownership of cryptocurrencies and bitcoins is not easy, it is not really possible today for wealth advisors to put clients' money into this asset class,โ said Apollo Crypto's Andersson. "But with an ETF, it's very simple, just like any other asset class."
He predicted that bitcoin ETFs would help push the price of bitcoin above $200,000, as investors pour $65 billion ($97 billion) into U.S. products, equivalent to about 1 percent of the bitcoin market. ETFs in the United States.
