Australia Set To Get Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Australian investors are expected to be next to gain exposure to spot bitcoin ETFs. 

21Shares and ETF Securities say they have been cleared to launch the first spot bitcoin and ethereum ETFs on Australian markets next week, making the country the eighth to approve such a product. 

In a joint statement, the companies said they will list the ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and the ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH) on the Australian Cboe Exchange on April 27. Both funds will be backed by cryptocurrencies held in offline storage by Coinbase. 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. 

The funds are the first spot crypto ETFs to list in the country, 21Shares and ETF Securities claim. ETF Securities is chaired by Graham Tuckwell, who is also the founder and chairman of ETFS Capital, the parent company of ETF.com. 

Cosmos Asset Management is also approved to launch its own crypto product in the country, according to the Australian Financial Review, but would provide exposure by owning shares of the Canada-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF instead of holding the cryptocurrency directly.  

21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan said the firm had received approval from regulators to launch crypto products "quite a while back," but wasn’t able to launch immediately due to constraints in lining up market makers, authorized participants and other service providers while preparing launches elsewhere. 

“There are only a few hours in the day, and we’re expanding in another dozen countries as we speak, and they’re all urgent,” he said in an interview. 

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