Zhī tōng cái jīng APP learned that a Bitcoin ETF that invests directly in Bitcoin spot assets (i.e. Bitcoin ETF) will be listed on the major stock market in Australia for the first time. Following the start of trading in similar Bitcoin ETF products in the United States and Hong Kong, Australia is also beginning to follow this wave of products. According to the latest application document, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF will be listed and traded on the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday. In the U.S. stock market, the first batch of listed Bitcoin ETFs has attracted about 57 billion U.S. dollars in funds so far.
ASX Ltd, the operator of the Australian Securities Exchange, and asset management giant VanEck said in a statement that the exchange has approved the listing and trading of the VanEck Bitcoin Spot ETF on Thursday. A spokesperson for ASX, which is responsible for most of Australia's stock trading, said that VanEck is the only applicant to have obtained approval for the Bitcoin ETF from the regulatory agency and that it is currently in discussions with other issuers.
Arian Neiron, CEO of VanEck Asia-Pacific, said in a statement: 'Although cryptocurrency investment has long been a polarizing topic, we recognize that Bitcoin is an emerging asset class, and many asset advisors and individual investors want to have more convenient access to it.'
Before approving the Bitcoin ETF's debut on the stock exchange in Australia, regulators in the U.S. stock market and Hong Kong stock market have formally approved the first batch of Bitcoin ETF products to be traded on the exchange.
The Bitcoin ETFs launched by asset management giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments have become one of the most successful first-wave ETFs in history, not only sweeping Wall Street, but also attracting funds from cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world to the United States.
The first batch of Bitcoin ETF products launched on the U.S. stock market this year has seen a net inflow of funds of up to 57 billion U.S. dollars, including global asset management giants BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments, and VanEck, which are dedicated to diversified asset products. In April this year, Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs tracking the performance of both cryptos were allowed to be launched in Hong Kong, but their global funding interest was not as high as that of the first batch of Bitcoin ETF products launched on the U.S. stock market.
As of early June, the first batch of Bitcoin ETFs listed on the U.S. stock market has attracted a net inflow of funds for 18 consecutive days, setting an unprecedented record for Bitcoin ETF demand. This surge in demand has driven the largest-scale cryptocurrency asset, Bitcoin, to its second-highest high since March. According to data compiled by institutions, as of the end of May, the net subscription amount of all first-wave Bitcoin ETF products on the U.S. stock market has reached 15.6 billion U.S. dollars, with total assets under management skyrocketing to 62.3 billion U.S. dollars.
Under the impetus of the huge scale of funds brought by Bitcoin ETFs, not only the total market value of Bitcoin, the world's highest-valued cryptocurrency, is constantly growing, but the market value of many relatively smaller-scale cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum has also been expanding since this year. However, in the past year, Ethereum's astonishing rise of up to 109% still lags behind Bitcoin's even more stunning rise of 170%, with Bitcoin's price hitting an all-time high in March.
Speculators in the options market expect Bitcoin to surpass its previous all-time high of $73,798 this month, driven by ETF demand and expectations of future rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. According to data from Deribit, the largest cryptocurrency options exchange, the largest positions are held in Bitcoin call options with a strike price of $75,000. Luuk Strijers, CEO of Deribit, said that traders' optimism was driven by the strong inflows of Bitcoin ETFs, expectations of a Fed rate cut in the U.S. and a European Central Bank rate cut, as well as the approval of Ethereum ETFs.
According to reports, BetaShares Holdings Pty, based in Sydney, and another Australian local company, DigitalX Ltd., are also waiting in line to list their Bitcoin ETFs on the Australian exchange. A spokesperson for BetaShares said that the asset management company is continuing to work on pushing Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs onto the stock trading market and hopes to launch more products related to cryptocurrencies in the near future.
Two years ago, the first round of bitcoin ETF was listed on a small-scale primary exchange, CBOE Australia, in Australia. These funds achieved mixed results. The core stock market of Australia - the Australian Securities Exchange, has a much higher global visibility and investor base than CBOE Australia. In addition, with the significant rebound in the prices of crypto assets such as bitcoin and ethereum in the past year, it remains to be seen whether the first batch of bitcoin ETF that is about to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange will bring greater attraction and is still subject to observation.