Australia’s leading stock exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange, has approved its first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which closed its first day of trading with a volume of $1.3 million. This is significantly lower than the debut trading day of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, which saw a total trading volume of $4.5 billion across 10 funds, averaging around $450 million each.
Despite the difference in market size, investment firm VanEck, the issuer of the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC), remains optimistic about the product’s potential for growth in Australia. Jamie Hannah, VanEck’s deputy head of investments and capital markets, stated that although the Australian market is smaller and primarily retail-focused, there is a possibility of following a similar path to the US.
Hannah also mentioned that there has been strong interest from both retail and professional investors in gaining Bitcoin exposure through the ASX. On its first day, VBTC opened at $13.24 and closed at $13.34, with a total of 96,476 shares traded during the day, according to ASX data.
VanEck’s CEO for the Asia-Pacific region, Arian Neiron, emphasized the growing demand for Bitcoin in Australia and the need for a regulated and transparent investment vehicle. Neiron stated that VBTC makes Bitcoin more accessible by managing the complexities of acquiring, storing, and securing digital assets, eliminating the need for investors to understand the technical aspects.
Although VBTC is the first spot Bitcoin ETF listed on ASX, two other Bitcoin ETF products have already been launched in Australia. The Monochrome Bitcoin ETF was recently approved and started trading on the Cboe Australia exchange, while the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF became the first Bitcoin ETF product to debut in Australia in April 2022.
In related news, Conor Daly, the driver for Polkadot’s Indy 500 team, revealed that his father holds DOT, highlighting the increasing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.