- Cboe Australia said the downstream issues that had caused the delay had been resolved
- EFT Securities will launch a Bitcoin and ETH Spot ETF in cooperation with 21Shares
- Cosmos Asset Management will Launch a Bitcoin ETF
At the end of last month, it was expected that Australia would unveil three exchange-traded crypto funds (ETFs) that were slated for listing on Cboe Australia by Cboe Global Market.
Two of the three ETFs were a Bitcoin and Ether spot ETF from 21Shares (in collaboration with ETF Securities), and the third was a Bitcoin EFT offered by Cosmos Asset Management. However, the Cboe exchange announced late, just before the launch date set for April 27, that the three ETFs had been delayed.
Introduction this Thursday
Cboe Australia has now provided an update and says the three ETPs will be launched on Thursday this week. After a two-week delay, the Cboe exchange confirmed in a series of circulars sent yesterday that the ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETF and the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF will debut on May 12.
Now that the ETFs are active again, 21Shares and Cosmos have allayed concerns, as the delay had allowed Toronto-based 3iQ Digital Asset Management to enter the race for the first launch. The company filed plans with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on April 28 to list the 3iQ CoinShares Bitcoin Feeder ETF and the 3iQ CoinShares Ether Feeder ETF on Cboe Australia.
3iQ aimed to outperform 21Shares and Cosmos in the supply of the crypto products, which means that the delayed ETFs could not have come sooner.
In a statement to The Australia Financial Review ETF Securities, a “multi-year competition among ETF providers“ to launch the first ETFs in Australia that directly track Bitcoin and Ether. ETF Securities defined it as a profit, since the products of Cosmos and the products of 3iQ are effectively feeders for offshore ETFs.
“By putting cryptocurrency into an ETF, investors can trade and own it in a highly regulated environment with government oversight“, the statement says.
However, Cosmos also claimed winner status, with CEO Dan Annan praising the victory at the launch of Australia’s first Bitcoin EFT.
“Cosmos Asset Management is pleased that the exchange Cboe has announced that trading for Australia’s first Bitcoin spot ETF will begin on Thursday. We are excited to launch this highly anticipated Bitcoin ETF to the Australian market.“
