Bitcoin ETF is about to land on the Australian stock market. Can it replicate the "money-sucking miracle" achieved in the US stock market?

According to Zhitong Finance APP, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) directly investing in Bitcoin spot assets will be listed on the main stock market in Australia for the first time. Following the trading of similar Bitcoin ETF products in the United States and Hong Kong, Australia is also starting to follow this trend. The latest application documents show that the VanEck Bitcoin ETF will be listed for trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on Thursday. In the U.S. stock market, the first batch of listed Bitcoin ETFs has attracted approximately $57 billion in funds so far.

ASX Ltd., the operator of the Australian Securities Exchange, and the asset management giant VanEck stated in a declaration that the exchange has approved the listing of the VanEck Bitcoin Spot ETF for trading on Thursday. A spokesperson for ASX, which handles most of the stock trading in Australia, mentioned that VanEck is the only applicant so far to have obtained approval for a Bitcoin ETF from the institution, and they are currently in discussions with other issuers.

Arian Neiron, the CEO of VanEck in the Asia-Pacific region, stated: "Although cryptocurrency investment has long been a polarizing topic, we recognize that Bitcoin is an emerging asset class that many asset advisors and individual investors want easier access to."

Before the approval of the Bitcoin ETF landing on the stock exchange in Australia, regulatory authorities in the U.S. stock market and the Hong Kong stock market had officially approved the trading of the first batch of Bitcoin ETF products.

Bitcoin ETFs launched by asset management giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity Investments have become one of the most successful initial ETFs in history in this asset class. They have not only swept Wall Street but also attracted funds from global cryptocurrency enthusiasts to the United States.

The first batch of Bitcoin ETF products that debuted in the U.S. stock market this year has achieved a net inflow of funds of up to $57 billion, including global asset management giants BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Investments, and VanEck, which is dedicated to diversified asset products. In April this year, Hong Kong allowed the launch of spot ETFs tracking Bitcoin and Ethereum, but their global funding interest was not as high as the first batch of Bitcoin ETF products that debuted in the U.S. stock market.

As of early June, the first batch of listed Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. stock market attracted net inflows for 18 consecutive days, setting an unprecedented record for Bitcoin ETFs. This surge in demand has driven Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency asset by market capitalization, to reach a phase high second only to the historical peak in March. According to data compiled by institutions, since their launch on January 11th, by the end of May, the net subscriptions of all the first batch of Bitcoin ETF products in the U.S. stock market had reached $15.6 billion, with total assets soaring to $62.3 billion

With the massive influx of funds brought by Bitcoin ETFs, not only has the total market value of the world's highest market capitalization cryptocurrency Bitcoin continued to grow, but the market value of many relatively smaller cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum has also been expanding since the beginning of this year. However, in the past year, Ethereum's impressive 109% increase still lags behind Bitcoin's astonishing 170% surge, with Bitcoin hitting an all-time high in March.

Speculators in the options market anticipate that, driven by ETF demand and expectations of future rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Bitcoin is expected to surpass its historical high of $73,798 this month. Data from the largest crypto options exchange, Deribit, shows that the largest open interest is in call options for Bitcoin with a strike price of $75,000. Deribit's CEO, Luuk Strijers, stated that traders' optimism is fueled by strong inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, expectations of rate cuts in the US and Europe, and the approval of Ethereum ETFs.

It is understood that BetaShares Holdings Pty, headquartered in Sydney, and another Australian company, DigitalX Ltd., are also waiting to list their Bitcoin ETFs in Australia. A spokesperson for BetaShares stated that the asset management firm continues to work towards bringing Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs to the stock market, and hopes to launch more cryptocurrency-related ETFs and products in the near future.

Two years ago, the first round of Bitcoin ETFs was listed on the smaller Australian exchange, CBOE Australia. These funds had mixed results, and the global recognition and investor base of the Australian Securities Exchange, Australia's most core stock market, far exceeds that of CBOE Australia. With the significant rebound in cryptocurrency assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum over the past year, it remains to be seen whether the first batch of Bitcoin ETFs to be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange will bring greater attraction on a larger scale