Australia’s largest stock exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has approved its first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), set to commence trading on June 20. The new ETF, named the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC), will be issued by investment firm VanEck.
This approval comes on the heels of VanEck’s recent success in the United States, where the firm launched the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), a spot Bitcoin ETF, on January 11. VanEck’s CEO for the Asia-Pacific region, Arian Neiron, emphasized the growing demand for Bitcoin exposure in Australia, especially through regulated and transparent investment vehicles.
“We recognize Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many advisers and investors want to access,” Neiron stated. “VBTC also makes Bitcoin more accessible by managing all the back-end complexity. Understanding the technical aspects of acquiring, storing, and securing digital assets is no longer necessary.”
The approval of VBTC marks a significant milestone as it is the first spot Bitcoin ETF to be approved by the ASX. However, it is not the first Bitcoin ETF to launch in Australia. Over the past two years, there have been two other Bitcoin ETFs introduced in the country.
The first Bitcoin ETF to debut in Australia was the Global X 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC), which launched in April 2022. Most recently, the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) was approved and began trading on June 4 on Australia’s second-largest stock exchange, the Cboe Australia exchange. These previous launches indicate a growing acceptance and interest in Bitcoin investment products within the Australian market.