Lewis Jackson
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched for the first time on Australia’s main stock market on Thursday as fund managers unveiled products aimed at catering to investors returning to cryptocurrency markets following a price boom.
The VanEck ETF launched with approximately A$990,000 ($660,429) in assets on the Australian Securities Exchange and is the culmination of more than three years of discussions with the ASX operator.
The fund will not directly own Bitcoin, but will invest in the US-registered VanEck Bitcoin Trust, which 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 in April with the launch of six funds, although interest there was more subdued.
VanEck Australia said in March that US regulatory approval had prompted a surge in inquiries from brokers and financial advisers for similar products.
Bitcoin’s price has nearly tripled since 2023, although prices have slowed since peaking in March.
A rival exchange in Australia, run by local subsidiary CBOE Global Markets, already lists several Bitcoin ETFs.
However, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF is the first fund to launch on a main exchange, where it will share a ticker tape with some of the country’s best-known corporations, such as BHP and Commonwealth Bank.
($1 = 1.4990 Australian dollars)