Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF could attract $1 billion after launch next week

cointelegraph.com:

Financial regulators have greenlit Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF to begin trading on April 27 and the Australian Financial Review reports it could see up to $1 billion in inflows.

An ETF is a regulated exchange traded fund that allows investors to benefit from the price of Bitcoin (BTC) without needing to own any coins themselves directly.

Cosmos Asset Management beat out local contenders VanEck, BetaShares, and EFT Securities to issue Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF. Each firm has been in the running to close out regulatory approvals since at least March, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF will be listed on CBOE Australia with approval from the Australia Securities Exchange (ASX) Clear capital markets clearinghouse. Approval was made after Cosmos landed the minimum four market participants to support the 42% margin requirements needed to cover risk according to an April 19 article by the AFR.

The Cosmos Bitcoin ETF offers indirect exposure to spot Bitcoin investing through the Canadian Purpose Bitcoin ETF.

Trader at Australian wealth management firm Zerocap, Kurt Grumelart, called the ETF approval “exciting” and commented that it “validates further institutional adoption” following the record breaking launch of the Betashares CRYP fund, which invests in crypto-exposed US Shares. On its launch in Nov 2021 the fund saw $10M of net inflows within the first ten minutes.

Grumelart expects the new Bitcoin ETF to be similarly successful

Grumelart predicted that a successful launch will lead to an influx of other players. “If overseas markets are any indication, it is likely that a successful launch will lead to a host of listings for crypto asset based funds outside of Bitcoin,” he said

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