Crypto news: the soap opera of spot Bitcoin ETFs continues and moves this time to the Land of Kangaroos, Australia.
Filing a new application with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is the BTC-focused asset management firm, Monochrome, along with partner, Vasco Trustees.
Summary
News: the first application for a Bitcoin ETF under the new regulations in Australia.
Monochrome announced that it has filed the first application for a spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia under the new regulations directly with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Basically, Monochrome and Vasco Trustees have applied to the ASX to list the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC), an exchange-traded fund that will have direct exposure to Bitcoin.
In the announcement, it states the following:
“Monochrome’s Responsible Entity partner, Vasco, is authorised under its Australian Financial Services Licence to offer retail investors direct and regulated exposure to crypto-assets bitcoin and ether via two managed investment schemes – the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF and the Monochrome Ethereum ETF.”
As early as last October 2021, ASIC, the country’s securities regulator, revised its rules for the Australian Financial Services License (AFS). In doing so, ASIC sought to promote market transparency among cryptocurrency companies while improving investor protection.
In this regard, Monochrome said that ASIC’s implementation of an Australian market framework for crypto-based exchange-traded products is beneficial for product providers and investors. This is because it establishes a clear path and regulatory requirements for market participants offering financial products with direct exposure to crypto-assets.
Bitcoin ETF news in Australia: the words of the company’s CEO
In an interview, Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew explained that Australian retail investors will be excited as:
“Through a Bitcoin ETF, it makes it possible for them to buy and use the asset class in however they see fit with the investment choices [and] in a regulated manner, and also operating within the regular regulatory perimeter.”
Yew had already pre-announced what was happening, through a tweet:
The situation in the US: Grayscale CEO believes it is only a matter of time
Obviously, the issue of spot Bitcoin ETFs is of strong interest as they are in the process of getting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US.
Recently, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein expressed several views on the Bitcoin ETF requested by BlackRock.
First, Sonnenshein pointed out that this huge increase in applications for spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is seen as a validation moment for Bitcoin.
In addition, Sonnenshein also talked about what would happen if the SEC decides to approve BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, describing that both institutional and retail investors in the US will have the opportunity to gain exposure to the price of Bitcoin without owning it directly.
On the other hand, again the CEO of Grayscale, argues that Bitcoin is an asset that will continue to exist over time, and that with the ETF formula now established, investors will be happy to have access to it.
