- The approval mimics spot Bitcoin ETF successes in the US and Hong Kong approval.
- The ETFs are expected to tap into the $2.3 trillion Australian pension market.
Australia’s largest stock exchange could welcome the country’s first spot Bitcoin ETFs. This comes in the wave of ETF approvals, with countries like the US and Hong Kong witnessing successful launches.
Citing anonymous sources, a Bloomberg report points out that the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will welcome the spot Bitcoin ETFs before the end of 2024. The Cosmos Asset Management and 3iQ are the two entities that have filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs with the exchange. VanEck also seeks to submit an application for the spot ETFs.
The reports cement a growing appetite for the asset class that gives direct exposure to the price of Bitcoin, with the US Bitcoin ETFs amassing over $53 billion. BetaShares head of digital assets Justin Arzadon says that the ETF inflows in the US “prove digital assets are here to stay.”
Hong Kong also officially approved its first batch of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs last week, with the city seeking to become a haven of crypto innovation in Asia.
See Related: South Korean Pension Fund Dives Into Digital Assets With $20 Million Coinbase Investment
$2.3 Trillion Australian Pension Market To Drive Spot ETF Inflows
Jamie Hannah, VanEck Australia’s deputy head of investments and capital markets, believes Australia’s $2.3 trillion pension market will drive spot ETF inflows. She says that a quarter of Australia’s retirement assets are held in self-managed superannuation programs, allowing individuals to select their investments and add spot crypto funds.
Hannah adds that with self-managed super funds, financial advisers, brokers, and platform money, a large addressable market size exists to grow the spot ETFs. Meanwhile, DigitalX CEO Lisa Wade expects Australians to invest up to 10% of their portfolios in digital assets.
