Summary:
- A Bitcoin ETF will be listed on Australia’s CBOE equities trading platform of ASX next week
- The listing of the Bitcoin ETF will test retail demand in the country
- There is some speculation that $1 billion will flow into the Bitcoin investment product
Trading of the first Bitcoin ETF in the Land Down Under (Australia) will commence next week. According to a report by the Financial Review, the Bitcoin ETF has got the go-head from Australia’s capital markets to be listed on the CBOE Equities trading venue. Furthermore, speculation is rife that $1 billion could flow into Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF.
ASX Clear has gathered four market participants to set up the demanding margin requirements needed to cover the settlement risks for a potentially volatile Bitcoin ETF trading product. The report explains that three clearing participants are institutional grade, and the fourth is a retail clearing participant. All four are willing to provide the 42% margin demanded by ASX Clear.
The Chief Risk Officer at ASX (Australian Securities Exchange), Hamish Treleaven, confirmed that the Bitcoin ETF was ‘good to go.’ It had reached the minimum threshold of clearing participants. Mr. Treleaven ‘will issue a notice to market participants on Wednesday giving seven days notice of ASX Clear’s regulatory approval.’ He is also confident that ASX Clear has taken the necessary steps of approving a Bitcoin ETF despite criticism for moving too slowly.
The ETF will most likely start trading on the CBOE on April 27th and is rumored to be the Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF. The latter invests in the Purpose Bitcoin ETF listed in Toronto, Canada. In a sense, the Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF is a fund investing in a fund.
Other market participants working on a Bitcoin ETF in Australia include ETF Securities, VanEck Australia, BetaShares, and Monochrome Asset Management.
