A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) debuted on Australia’s primary stock market, marking the first of such products in the country as fund managers respond to renewed investor interest in cryptocurrency amid recent price surges.
The VanEck Bitcoin ETF launched on the Australian Securities Exchange with approximately A$990,000 ($660,429) in assets, concluding over three years of negotiations with ASX, the exchange operator.
The fund will not directly hold Bitcoin but will instead invest in the U.S.-listed VanEck Bitcoin Trust, launched in January. VanEck’s European subsidiary also oversees 12 similar cryptocurrency funds.
After regulators approved several products in January, investors in the US flooded cryptocurrency ETFs with billions of dollars. Hong Kong subsequently launched six funds in April.
A competitor exchange in Australia, operated by the local subsidiary of CBOE Global Markets, already offers several bitcoin ETFs.
The price of Bitcoin has nearly tripled since 2023, although it has plateaued since reaching a peak in March.