VanEck remains confident it will be able to launch a spot-based Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) in Australia, after a similar product was rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US.
The SEC announced it had denied approval for VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF as it was concerned it could violate securities rules because the large Bitcoin market was prone to abuse. However, it was happy with the futures Bitcoin ETF as futures traded on a regulated exchange.
VanEck announced plans to launch a physical Bitcoin ETF in Australia after the release of a consultation from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into cryptocurrency. This stated that ASIC would facilitate access to regulated crypto products.
In a statement to Money Management, Arian Neiron, managing director and head of Asia Pacific for VanEck, said decisions made by overseas regulators did not impact its Australian products.
“What other regulators do has no bearing on the Australian regulatory landscape,” Neiron said.
“As a global tier one asset manager and leader in digital assets, VanEck is working with the exchange to bring a highly-robust, optimal investment opportunity to Australian investors. We are confident the ETF vehicle is the superior opportunity relative to holding digital assets directly.
“Investor protection is instrumental and an ETF will ensure investors have a similar investing experience as with other ETFs in Australia.”
While the physical ETF had been rejected in the US, Neiron said the firm had five crypto ETFs available in Europe.
BetaShares and Monochrome had also announced plans to launch Bitcoin ETFs in the future.
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