The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has given the green light to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on a spot basis. Both ETFs will be traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). ASIC has issued a guideline for Product Exchange Trade (ETP) after months of lengthy discussions among regulators.
The new set of guidelines will allow firms to launch ETFs that are pegged to crypto assets and give way to direct investment in crypto. According to ASIC commissioner Cathie Armor:
“Crypto assets have unique characteristics and risks that must be considered by product manufacturers and market players in meeting legal standards. Therefore, ASIC through these guidelines will be an example in meeting the standards and offering investment protection to Australian market players ”.
The approval comes just weeks after the U.S. SEC approved the first futures market pegged Bitcoin ETF. The first Bitcoin ETF was approved in North America in Canada in the form of a Bitcoin ETF.
The approval of the first ETF can be said to be a fruitful one and successfully boosted the confidence of kritpo market players that the United States will approve spot ETFs soon after futures ETFs received a warm reception.
ProShares became the first firm to get U.S. SEC approval and managed to record a trading volume of over one billion dollars on the first day. With this, ProShares Bitcoin futures ETF trading has managed to break the 18 -year record of being the fastest to raise $ 1 billion in assets in 2 days.
