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(Kitco News) - Australia has joined the U.S. in a push to get their first fully-licensed spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF listed on retail markets as the Bitcoin-focused asset management firm Monochrome, in partnership with Vasco Trustees, has re-filed its application with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The application for the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) is the first spot BTC ETF filed under Australia’s new regulatory guidelines that include cryptocurrency-related provisions. IBTC is intended to provide regulated exposure to the top crypto for retail investors in the country.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revised its rules for the Australian financial services (AFS) license in October 2021 in an effort to promote market transparency among crypto firms and enhance investor protections.
The new rules specify that institutional support and acceptance of the underlying crypto should exist for a spot ETF, and “reputable” and “experienced” service providers must be willing to support those products.
According to the announcement, Monochrome’s responsible entity partner, Vasco, is authorized under its Australian Financial Services Licence to offer retail investors direct and regulated exposure to Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) via two managed investment schemes - the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF and the Monochrome Ethereum ETF.
Vasco is one of two companies that have received a financial license to offer crypto spot ETFs to the general public in Australia since the new rules were established. There are also several companies that have obtained licenses to offer products to institutional investors.
The Global X 21Shares’s Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) is one product currently available in the Australian market. It operates using a wholesale-retail feeder fund structure, where a retail fund invests in a wholesale fund that directly holds Bitcoin. The wholesale fund is not subject to the newly instituted regulations specifically aimed at retail funds dealing with digital assets.
“What sets us apart from other fund structures is that the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF is authorized under the ‘crypto-asset’ licensing category, which allows the fund to hold bitcoin directly on the fund level,” Monochrome CEO Jeff Yew told Blockworks. He added that he was confident in a positive outcome for the application.
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Indonesia to launch a national crypto exchange
The government of Indonesia has announced it is moving forward with its plan to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange, and expects to debut the platform in the coming weeks.
According to a report from Tempo, Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (CFTRA), also known as Bappebti, plans to launch the national crypto exchange in July 2023.
“Yesterday we agreed on the stock exchange rules,” Didid Noordiatmoko, acting head of Bappebti, said on Wednesday. He added that the discussions involved Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, and said that trading on the exchange would be offered through an integrated application, which the CFTRA has already tested.
Bappebti plans to restrict all cryptocurrency transactions so that they can only take place using the national exchange, Didid said. Indonesia trade minister Zulkifli Hasan has been informed of the decision, and if there are no objections or additional instructions, Bappebti will sign the permit, which will give licensed traders one month to join the exchange.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade announced its intentions to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange in January and originally intended to debut the platform in June. The idea for the platform dates back to 2021 when the owners of a state-backed telecom firm in Indonesia announced a joint venture with Binance to launch a joint cryptocurrency exchange.
