SYDNEY, Australia—Australia could soon be seeing digital currency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), following in the steps of Canada and, most recently, the United States.
The development comes after the country’s securities regulator issued new guidelines for the industry, outlining the licensing requirements for companies seeking to offer ETFs, engage in token sales, facilitate trading, and more.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) recently announced the new “guidance on crypto-asset related investment products.”
The regulator’s goal with the new guidance is to cover good practices for product issuers in how they establish and operate related products, CoinGeek noted.
One of the biggest takeaways from the comprehensive set of guidelines, according to the report, is that the ASIC is open to a digital currency ETF. The ASIC will allow market players to offer ETFs that invest directly in digital currencies and other adjacent assets such as miners or exchanges.
Fund Launches in U.S.
The approval comes at a time when the U.S. has grabbed global headlines after approving the first ETF, which started trading on Oct. 19 followed by a second ETF three days later, noted CoinGeek. This was after the SEC had been adamant against a digital currency ETF, with Jay Clayton rejecting several applications during his tenure as the SEC chief, the report added.
In Australia, several firms have expressed interest in launching a digital currency ETF. One of these, $20 billion ETF provider Betashares, recently revealed that once the regulator gives the green light, it would begin to work on its ETF. Claiming that Australia has over a million digital currency owners, CEO Alex Vynokur stated that this would provide a great market for the ETF, CoinGeek said.