Australia’s Delayed Crypto ETFs to Launch This Week

Australia is about to welcome its first set of crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after an initial delay last month, according to a report.

Australia’s First ETFs to Begin Trading

Three new ETFs will be listed on the Cboe exchange this Thursday to track the performance of bitcoin and ether, the Australian arm of the exchange confirmed on Monday evening.

The products, dubbed the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF, ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF, are powered by fund managers Cosmos Asset Management and ETF Securities.

ETF Securities crypto funds were developed in collaboration with Swiss-based ETF issuer 21Shares. The alliance will allow ETF Securities to run the products while 21Shares will provide operational and research support.

The Eleventh-Hour Delay

The ETFs were originally scheduled to begin trading on April 27 after ASX Clear, Australia’s main capital market regulator, gave an official nod. However, the listing was postponed a day before the scheduled date to May 12 due to an embarrassing issue that caught everyone by surprise.

Reports at the time revealed that the delay was caused by an undisclosed but “powerful” prime broker that blocked the funds from launching on Cboe due to the controversial and volatile nature of the crypto market.

According to recent reports, Cboe and relevant market makers had to secure another broker during the two-week delay as they were unable to convince the first prime one to change its position on the matter.

The delay also gave room for Canadian ETF issuer 3iQ Digital Asset Management to join the race. On May 3, the Toronto-based company applied to offer two crypto funds to Australian investors. If approved, the 3iQ products, dubbed BT3Q and ET3Q, will trade on Cboe while tracking the performance of bitcoin and ether.

U.S. SEC Continues to Reject Bitcoin Spot ETFs

Meanwhile, as Australia joins other countries like Canada and Switzerland to welcome its first crypto ETFs, the United States continues to reject applications for physically-backed Bitcoin ETFs.

But while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently rejecting spot ETF proposals, the regulator has already approved a few Bitcoin Futures ETFs.