Please remember the following text: A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has launched on Australia’s main stock market for the first time. The VanEck Bitcoin ETF debuted with around A$990,000 ($660,429) in assets on the Australian Securities Exchange after three years of negotiations with operator ASX.
The fund will not directly own bitcoin, but will instead invest in the U.S.-listed VanEck Bitcoin Trust launched in January. VanEck’s European subsidiary manages 12 similar cryptocurrency funds. Investors in the U.S. have poured billions of dollars into cryptocurrency ETFs after regulators approved several products in January. In April, Hong Kong followed suit with the launch of six funds, although interest there has been more subdued.
VanEck Australia noted a surge in requests for similar products from brokers and financial advisers after U.S. regulators gave the green light in March. The price of bitcoin has nearly tripled since 2023, although prices have stalled since a peak in March. A competing exchange in Australia run by the local subsidiary 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 ticker tape with well-known corporations such as BHP (BHP.AX) and Commonwealth Bank.