Australia’s biggest stock exchange has introduced its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) for spot Bitcoin (BTC), responding to the rising global demand for accessible cryptocurrency investment options.
The VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC) began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which oversees 90% of the country’s equity market.
After 99,791 shares were traded, VBTC closed the day at A$20.06 ($13.4), representing a 1% increase from its opening price.
This ETF functions as a feeder fund that enables investors to invest in Bitcoin by putting money into VanEck’s Bitcoin Trust (HODL), a US-listed ETF on the Cboe exchange.
The launch of VBTC on the ASX comes after similar spot Bitcoin products were introduced in the US six months ago and in Hong Kong about seven weeks ago.
However, VBTC is not the first ETF to offer Australian investors exposure to Bitcoin. Monochrome Asset Management’s Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC), which directly holds Bitcoin, was launched on June 4 on the Cboe Australia exchange, a smaller competitor to the ASX.
Since its launch, IBTC has achieved an average daily transaction volume of 55,000 units and handles approximately AU$550,000 in cash transactions each day.
These ETFs together represent a significant development in Bitcoin investment in Australia. They indicate the arrival of a wave of Bitcoin ETFs in the country, providing investors with new opportunities to participate in the emerging cryptocurrency market.
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