Revolutionizing Crypto Landscape: Monochrome and Vasco Pave the Way with Australia’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF

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• Monochrome Asset Management and Vasco Trustees Ltd have lodged Australia’s first spot Bitcoin ETF application under the country’s new cryptocurrency regulations.
• The move marks Australia’s entry into the global spot Bitcoin ETF race, as it seeks to provide retail investors with a regulated structure to invest directly in Bitcoin.

In a remarkable step forward for the cryptocurrency market, Monochrome Asset Management Pty Ltd, a crypto-centric investment firm, along with its regulatory partner Vasco Trustees Ltd, have re-submitted their application for a spot Bitcoin ETF on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The proposed Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) represents the first of its kind under Australia’s newly established crypto regulatory regime, providing investors direct exposure to Bitcoin.

Australia’s Pioneering Spot Bitcoin ETF Amid Regulatory Changes

Monochrome and Vasco jointly announced on July 14th, that an updated application for the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) has been filed with the ASX. Vasco, as the holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence, is in a unique position to provide retail investors with a fully regulated, direct exposure to two primary crypto-assets: Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). This direct access is facilitated through the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF and its sibling, the Monochrome Ethereum ETF – two managed ETF investment products.

As Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew stated, the IBTC is an Australian milestone. It offers retail investors the opportunity to possess Bitcoin through a single regulated structure, providing absolute entitlement to the underlying Bitcoin. This significant step places Australia among the nations participating in the spot Bitcoin ETF race.

The ETF aims to provide a platform for investors to purchase and use the crypto-asset as they wish, within their investment choices, and in a controlled, regulated manner. This initiative also aligns with the typical regulatory framework.

Supporting the efforts of Monochrome and Vasco are major service providers including State Street Australia, Automic Pty Limited, Ernst & Young, CF Benchmarks, and Gemini Trust Company.

Australia’s market framework for crypto-asset exchange-traded products has been recently implemented by ASIC. This framework clarifies the pathways and regulatory requirements for market participants offering financial products with direct exposure to crypto-assets. It seeks to boost the confidence of Australian investors contemplating an investment in this emerging asset class.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Race Goes Global

This development comes in the wake of a similar move by BlackRock, which filed a spot Bitcoin ETF application with the US SEC last month. Following their lead, other institutions such as Fidelity Investments, Invesco, and WisdomTree, have also submitted spot Bitcoin ETF applications. This surge in applications has prompted institutional investors to re-inject funds into crypto asset funds, with a net inflow of $500 million seen over the past three weeks. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recognized Bitwise’s spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) application last Thursday, further highlighting the momentum behind this trend.