Deniz 
With $1.3 million in trading activity, the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved for Australia’s primary stock exchange concluded its first day of trading.
It is much less than the debut trading day for the United States’ spot Bitcoin ETFs, which averaged over $450 million per and had $4.5 billion of total trading volumes on the first day across ten funds.
Despite the market size discrepancy, investment firm VanEck, the issuer of the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (VBTC), told Cointelegraph that it is hopeful the product will see similar expansion to spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Retail Interest in Bitcoin ETF
“Although most of our flow is retail rather than institutional and the Australian market is far smaller than the U.S., there is a chance we may follow a similar path,” VanEck deputy head of investments and capital markets Jamie Hannah told.
“We have had a considerable volume of retail and professional investors indicate strong interest in getting bitcoin exposure through ASX,” Hannah said.
ASX data shows VBTC was trading at $13.24 at market opening and completed the day at $13.34, with 96,476 shares traded throughout the afternoon.
Comparing U.S. and Australian Bitcoin ETFs
The CEO of VanEck in the Asia-Pacific area, Arian Neiron, confirmed on June 15 that demand is rising in Australia, particularly through a “regulated, transparent, and familiar investment vehicle.”
“We understand many advisers and investors wish to access Bitcoin as a growing asset class,” Neiron stated.
By controlling all the back-end complexity, VBTC also makes bitcoin more accessible. He said, “Knowing the technical aspects of acquiring, storing, and securing digital assets is no longer necessary.”
Two other Bitcoin ETF products have already been introduced in Australia, even though this is the first one on ASX.
Approved recently and beginning trading on Australia’s second-largest stock exchange, the Cboe Australia exchange, the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC).
The Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) became the first Bitcoin ETF product ever launched in Australia in April 2022.
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