A number of Bitcoin ETFs are set to start trading in Australia as regulators give final approval to products that can invest directly in digital assets.
Cosmos Asset Management says it is preparing to launch the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF in the coming days. It will invest in Purpose Bitcoin ETF. "We expect to launch it next week," Said Dan Annan, chief executive of Cosmos, in an interview, pending final regulatory approval.
Meanwhile, 21Shares AG, in partnership with ETF Securities, expects bitcoin and Ether ETFs to launch on April 27, according to a statement. The tokens that support these products will be held in so-called cold storage by exchange Coinbase.
The excitement around Bitcoin-related ETFs reached its peak last year when the US allowed ETFs based on bitcoin futures, sending bitcoin to an all-time high. But investor enthusiasm has cooled along with the price of Bitcoin as the prospect of a dramatic tightening of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve has made venture capital less attractive.
Bitcoin was up 0.81% at $41,715 as of press time.
The United States has the largest share of publicly traded cryptocurrency funds by value
At the same time, there is plenty of evidence of growing adoption of cryptocurrencies in Australia. In addition, Bloomberg Intelligence said Australia could become the gateway for crypto ETFs in the Asia-Pacific region.
The United States now accounts for about 74 percent of the market value of publicly traded crypto funds, followed by Europe with about 15 percent and Canada with 9 percent, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Annan believes there is "quite a bit of pent-up demand" in Australia and Cosmos is looking into the possibility of developing ETFs to invest in other tokens. There are already ETFs in the Australian market that track crypto-related stocks.