Australia’s first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be listed on the Cboe trading platform next week.
Once enough market participants have agreed to strict margin caps, the clearing house that controls access to the country’s stock markets will green-light the country’s first bitcoin ETF, according to a report by Australian news outlet AFR.
ASX Clear, the powerful clearing house at the heart of the Australian equity capital markets, now has four market participants ready to put in the money needed to cover bitcoin’s settlement risks.
They are willing to pay the 42% margin required by ASX Clear before allowing bitcoin ETF to start trading.
ASX Chief Risk Officer Hamish Treliven said:
“Now we have a minimum number of clearing members, which means that we are ready to go.”
Bitcoin ETF Ready for Trading April 27th
On Wednesday, April 20, Treleaven will send out a notice to market participants that ASX Clear has received regulatory approval.
Brokers, clearing houses, clearing members, market makers and investors will have seven days to prepare for the launch of a new product.
In other words, the only Bitcoin ETF currently listed by ASX Clear, the Cosmos Asset Management Bitcoin ETF, will be able to start trading on Cboe on April 27 when the market opens. $1 billion is expected to flow into Australia’s first bitcoin ETF when it lists next week.
Interestingly, opponents have said that the delay in accepting ASX Clear’s Bitcoin ETF trading application was intended to protect the ASX trading floor from the competition.
Notably, it has been two years since the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) wrote a letter to the financial promoter of Bitcoin stating that Bitcoin’s listed retail product was banned in Australia at the time.
