The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is reportedly gearing up to green-light the nation's first set of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) before the end of the year.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, several asset providers, including VanEck Australia and local firms BetaShares and DigitalX, have already lodged applications for Bitcoin ETFs earlier this year.
Currently, Australian investors have access to spot Bitcoin ETFs listed on CBOE Australia, with the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) ETFs being the only offerings in the market.
It is worth noting that Australia is not the only nation that seeks to capitalize on the surge in the demand for crypto ETFs. After receiving initial approval earlier this month, Hong Kong is poised to list a batch of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs on April 30. Despite Hong Kong's market size being comparatively smaller than the U.S., industry experts view this development as a positive stride for crypto adoption globally.
The momentum for spot Bitcoin ETFs in the Asia-Pacific region has notably surged following the approvals in the United States and Hong Kong. In the U.S., where spot Bitcoin ETFs were introduced in January, these funds have amassed an impressive $53.16 billion in total net assets across eleven products.