Sparse Trading on the First Day of Listing for Australian Bitcoin Spot ETF “IBTC”: Only 1 Bitcoin Inflow
Australia’s first physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), called IBTC, was launched by Monochrome Asset Management on June 4th on the Cboe Australia exchange. While Australia already had two exchange-traded products (ETPs) offering spot trading of cryptocurrencies, they did not directly hold Bitcoin. Monochrome emphasizes that IBTC is the first and only ETF in Australia that directly holds Bitcoin. Prior to the launch of IBTC, Australian investors could only invest in Bitcoin indirectly or through offshore Bitcoin ETFs, which did not benefit from investor protection rules under the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) regime. IBTC is the first and only ETP authorized under the cryptocurrency licensing category. The issuance of ETFs in Australia requires approval from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the listing exchange. Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew stated that this aligns with Monochrome’s mission to prioritize investor protection and provide a secure, compliant, and direct pathway to participate in the revolutionary cryptocurrency space. However, on the first day of trading, IBTC only saw a net inflow of 1 BTC, according to HODL15Capital, although the community still considers this a good start.
