Spot Australian Bitcoin, ETH Fund Launches Delayed

Australia will have to wait to become the eighth country in the world to allow spot cryptocurrency ETFs due to a service provider delay. 

The ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and the ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH) will not debut on Wednesday as originally planned, according to a Tuesday morning notice from the Australian Cboe Exchange. The funds are the first spot crypto ETFs set to list in the country. 

ETF Securities is chaired by Graham Tuckwell, who is also the founder and chairman of ETFS Capital, the parent company of ETF.com.  

In a statement, 21Shares said an undisclosed third party was unable to begin servicing the funds on its expected launch date. The firm does not have a timeline for when it expects its servicer to be ready for launch. 

“As crypto ETFs are completely new to Australia and the infrastructure is being built from the ground up, a service provider downstream needs more time to support the launch,” the firm said. 

The delay is also affecting the launch of a Cosmos Asset Management fund also scheduled for Wednesday. That fund would provide exposure by owning shares of the Canada-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF instead of holding cryptocurrency. 

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