Bitcoin ETFs Launch In Australia As Market Goes Red

Two new bitcoin ETFs launched today in Australia, a spot bitcoin fund directly acquiring bitcoin and a de-facto fund of funds.

• Australian bitcoin ETFs went live on Thursday.
• Both a spot bitcoin fund, the country’s first, and a fund of funds launched on the Australian Cboe.
• The launch was a timid one amid a broader market sell-off.

Two bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started trading today on the Australian Cboe Global Markets Inc., one being a spot bitcoin ETF and the other investing in a spot bitcoin ETF overseas, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.

The 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC:AU) is a spot bitcoin ETF offered in partnership with ETF Securities. EBTC directly invests in bitcoin and stores it in cold storage on Coinbase. The Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC:AU), on the other hand, invests in the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, the world’s first physically-settled bitcoin ETF in North America.

Both ETFs have launched as bitcoin continues to look for a new line of support below $29,000 while the broader cryptocurrency market suffers. Having dipped below $28,000 overnight, investors looking to invest in these new funds will find a different valuation than would have been observed had the original release date not been pushed back by the Cboe on April 27.

“There are strong signs of capitulation in crypto this week, which often proceeds rebounds,” Tony Sycamore, senior market analyst for City Index, told Bloomberg. “Presuming the recovery gains traction, it will help garner support for the newly listed ETF products along with the continuation of more widespread adoption.”

Purpose Bitcoin has amassed roughly $1.16 billion in assets since its 2021 launch and holds its bitcoin with cryptocurrency custodian Gemini, per the release.

“By bringing CBTC to market on Cboe Australia, Cosmos is making Bitcoin accessible to investors in a secure and recognisable structure, all underpinned by the first physically settled Bitcoin ETF in the world,” Cboe Australia CEO Vic Jokovic said in the release.