The first-ever spot bitcoin ETF starts trading today in Australia. Listed on Cboe Australia, the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) is managed by Monochrome Asset Management Pty Ltd. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) approved the exchange-traded product sometime during the first quarter of 2024.
With the listing going live on June 4, 2024, IBTC becomes the first ETF on Cboe to offer investors direct exposure to bitcoin in a completely regulated setting. According to Monochrome’s description, IBTC’s objective is to provide investors with a return that tracks BTC price in AUD. This is achieved by following a straightforward investment strategy of buying and holding BTC over the long term without using derivatives, leverage, short selling or any other investment strategies commonly used with other ETFs.
The approval for spot crypto ETFs in Australia follows similar developments in the United States and more recently the United Kingdom. IBTC is the third crypto-related exchange-traded product to be approved in Australia. However, the other two products don’t hold crypto products directly, but rather allow exposure indirectly through offshore bitcoin products other instruments.
In its press release, Monochrome differentiates IBTC from other crypto-related exchange-traded products by stating,
“IBTC is the first and only exchange traded fund in the market to be authorized under the crypto asset licensing category. Prior to IBTC, Australian investors were only able to invest in ETFs that indirectly hold bitcoin or through offshore bitcoin products, both which do not benefit from the investor protection rules under the directly held crypto asset AFS licensing regime.”
The price of bitcoin holdings with Monochrome is benchmarked against CF Benchmarks Ltd CMR CF Bitcoin Reference Rate Asia Pacific Variant. The company has secure infrastructure in place to ensure the safekeeping of bitcoin holdings.
On its website, Monochrome lists multiple well-known companies as service providers, including State Street as Administrator and Cash Custodian, CF Benchmarks as the Benchmark Index, Automic Group as Registry, Gemini as Bitcoin Custodian and Solactive as the iNAV Provider.
Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome Asset Management, stated, “We are excited to bring the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) to market. IBTC holds bitcoin directly – a first in Australia. This aligns with Monochrome’s investor protection-driven mission to offer secure, compliant, and straightforward pathways to participate in this transformative space.”
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