Through its partner Vasco Trustees, Australian crypto investment firm Monochrome Asset Management has updated its application to list a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The ETF, Monochrome Bitcoin ETF, will be able to provide retail Australian investors with direct exposure to Bitcoin and Ether (ETH), per the company’s announcement on July 14.
By obtaining a license, Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew explained, Australian retail investors would be exposed to Bitcoin within a formidable regulatory environment:
“Through a Bitcoin ETF, it makes it possible for them to buy and use the asset class in however they see fit with the investment choices [and] in a regulated manner, and also operating within the regular regulatory perimeter.”
“So that is the benefit, I guess, compared to, say, unregulated exchanges where there’s no investor protection,” he added.
Yew believes that if a Bitcoin ETF launches on ASX, it will send traditional investors a “clear signal” that the “unregulated Wild West is coming to an end” because their investments will be backed by a “familiar,” “structured,” and “protected environment.”
The company stated that Vasco, its “Responsible Entity Partner,” is authorized by an Australian Financial Services Licence to offer retail investors regulated exposure to the cryptocurrency market.
Spot Bitcoin ETF applications have become a focal point of the industry, particularly in the United States, in recent months.
Recently, major financial institutions, including Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree, Valkyrie, and the $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock, have filed for Bitcoin ETFs.