Written by Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched on Australia's main stock market for the first time on Thursday, as fund managers launched products to please investors returning to cryptocurrency markets after a price boom.
The VanEck ETF with assets of about A$990,000 (US$660,429) has been launched on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the culmination of more than three years of negotiations with operator ASX.
The fund will not own bitcoin directly, but will invest in the US-listed VanEck Bitcoin Trust, which was launched in January. VanEck's European subsidiary also manages 12 similar cryptocurrency funds.
Investors have poured billions of dollars into U.S. cryptocurrency ETFs after regulators approved several products in January. Hong Kong followed last April with the launch of six funds, although there was less interest.
VanEck Australia said in March that a green light from US regulators had led to a jump in applications from brokers and financial advisers for similar products.
The price of Bitcoin has nearly tripled since 2023, although prices have stalled since their peak in March.
A competing exchange in Australia run by local affiliate CBOE Global Markets already hosts several bitcoin ETFs.
However, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF is the first fund to launch on a major exchange, where it will share tape with some of the country's most well-known companies such as BHP and the Commonwealth Bank.
($1 = 1.4990 Australian dollars)