Bitcoin ETF to launch this week on ASX

Australia will soon join a fast-growing cohort of crypto-friendly countries with the imminent launch of the ASX’s first bitcoin ETF.

Listing this Thursday, 20 June 2024, the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (ASX: VBTC) will be the most cost-effective bitcoin fund exposure in Australia.

Arian Neiron, VanEck CEO and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, said: “We are pleased to bring bitcoin to the Australian market as a regulated financial product on the nation’s primary capital market destination, the ASX.

“Notwithstanding that crypto investing is a polarising topic, we recognise bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many advisers and investors want to access. We have developed a robust offering that we believe provides an opportunity for bitcoin exposure using a regulated, transparent and familiar investment vehicle.”

“VBTC also makes bitcoin more accessible by managing all the back-end complexity. Understanding the technical aspects of acquiring, storing and securing digital assets is no longer necessary,” he said.

Recent research by VanEck* found 76.2% of advisers had clients enquiring about bitcoin. Additionally, 33% of advisers said they would add a bitcoin ETF to client portfolios if it was available on the ASX, while 22.9% were undecided.

The ASX launch follows the SEC’s approval of the first bitcoin ETFs earlier this year, and the availability of bitcoin ETNs in several European stock exchanges.

“Being responsive to new opportunities has always been a guiding principle for VanEck. Owning gold was illegal until the mid-1970s, but John van Eck saw its potential as a superior store of value and a hedge against inflation. He established the first gold equity fund in 1968 when gold was still pegged to the US dollar, and three years later, the Nixon administration took the dollar off the gold standard for the first time in 190 years. Gold prices soared, as did the fortunes of VanEck’s gold fund investors,” added Neiron.

VBTC will soon join several other investment opportunities VanEck has pioneered over 10+ years in Australia, increasing its product range to a total of 42 ETFs on the ASX.

ENDS