The Switzerland-based investment product issuer – 21Shares – joined forces with ETF Securities to launch the first two exchange-traded funds in Australia that will provide customers with direct access to cryptocurrencies. Those products will track the performance of BTC, and ETH will go live on April 27.
While the American financial regulators keep rejecting cryptocurrency spot ETF applications by major firms, such products started emerging in other countries. The Canadian watchdogs greenlighted the nation’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund last February, while the Brazilian authorities did the same a few months later.
According to a recent press release, Australia will also put its name on that list by approving two such products. The initiative will see the light of day at the end of April after a collaboration between 21Shares and ETF Securities.
Dubbed ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH), the funds will track the price of respectively BTC and ETH in Australian dollars. The products will be fully backed by their underlying assets and held in cold storage by Coinbase.
Graham Tuckwell – Executive Chairman of ETF Securities – explained that the funds will enable investors to trade cryptocurrencies without creating their own Bitcoin or Ethereum wallets and storing the holdings.
“Once we decided to build a range of crypto ETFs for the Australian market, there was only one partner we wanted to work with, and that’s 21Shares. Its pioneering approach to secure investment in cryptocurrency has been emulated by other fund managers around the world,” he added.
Speaking on the matter was also Hany Rashwan – CEO and Co-Founder of 21Shares. He said the team behind his company is “incredibly excited” to be able to offer the first ETFs that grant direct exposure to Bitcoin and Ethereum in Australia. Moreover, he hinted that 21Shares might provide similar funds with other underlying assets in the future.
As CryptoPotato reported earlier this week, Australia has already hopped on the crypto ETF bandwagon by launching the Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF, which will also start trading on April 27. Unlike EBTC and EETH, though, it was introduced as a “fund of funds” as it invests in the purpose Bitcoin ETF available for trading in Toronto, Canada.
It is safe to say that blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have been flourishing in Australia since the beginning of 2022. In February, the Aussie brokerage platform – SafeWealth – started providing digital asset trading services to domestic clients. It also integrated educational tools for investors who are just entering the world of crypto.
Nearly a month later, the leading trading venue FTX established an Australian branch called FTX Australia Pty Ltd. The latter now offers OTC crypto products and services, as well as derivatives.
At the same time, the largest bank in the country – Commonwealth Bank of Australia – revealed its intentions to provide additional digital asset opportunities to customers. The institution also disclosed it seeks to double the size of its blockchain team in the following months.