Monochrome launches first Australian Bitcoin ETF under new crypto licensing
New Bitcoin ETF is first in Australia under AFSL rules.
Digital asset management firm Monochrome has today launched a new Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund), the first under recent crypto licensing rules.
The ETF will start trading today on the Cboe Australia exchange under the ticker IBTC and is designed to make it easier for Australian investors to get exposure to Bitcoin in a more regulated form. The ETF will hold Bitcoin directly, with all holdings stored in a secured offline device.
It will be able available to trade through most stock brokers and trading platforms in Australia.
It's the second Bitcoin ETF to become available to Australia investors after the Global X Bitcoin (EBTC) and Ethereum (EETH) ETFs, which also trade on Cboe Australia.
Monochrome's IBTC ETF is authorised by Australian Financial Services Licensing (AFSL) under the crypto-asset licensing category that was first introduced in October 2021.
It will use the CF Benchmarks Ltd CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate Asia Pacific Variant to track the price of Bitcoin.
Jeff Yew, Monochrome CEO, said the Bitcoin ETF was part of its goal to offer "secure, compliant, and straightforward pathways to participate in this transformative space."
The launch of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US in January helped see the price of Bitcoin rise 60% since the start of 2024, with billions of dollars of inflows.
While the launch of the IBTC ETF is unlikely to have the same impact, it's still a significant step forward for Bitcoin locally.
Correction: We made an update to this story to reflect that the fact that the Monochrome ETF was the second Bitcoin ETF to become available to Australian investors.
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