Demand for cryptocurrency ETFs remains high though – with the quick success of BetaShares in Australia – the breakthrough for a ‘spot’ Bitcoin product is tipped to come quicker down-under.
CRYP, a new crypto ETF by BetaShares, smashed the prior ASX record for inflows within minutes on Thursday, after receiving the green light to trade from the exchange.
The ETF success was anticipated due to the repressed demand for ASX’s crypto exposure, believed Ryan McCall, chief executive of Australian crypto investment platform Zerocap, before he added: that “demand from high net worth individuals, family offices and advisers looks set to accelerate with institutional adoption”.
Moreover, McCall reckons Australia may open up its crypto ETF market before the United States – where only funds linked to Bitcoin futures are presently allowed.
“A spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia isn’t far away, followed by Ethereum and potentially other cryptocurrencies,” commented McCall.
Futures ETFs “are an inferior product to spot Bitcoin, with price disconnected from the underlying asset, [so] hopefully the regulators [in Australia] see that and we go straight to spot.”
CRYP allows investors to gain exposure to 32, soon to be 50, pure crypto companies.
These include exchanges, crypto mining and equipment companies such as Galaxy Digital (TSX-V:GLXY) (12%), Marathon Digital (11.3%), and Coinbase Global (10.7%).
Earlier this week, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), Australia’s largest bank and top 50 worldwide, announced its intentions to support the trading of ten crypto assets on its banking app.
Last month, the first Bitcoin futures-based ETF in the US – ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – launched on 20 October and saw over US$1bn change hands in the historic first-trading day.
