Link copied 
The crypto market might have declined in recent weeks but that has not stopped players in the industry to launch new products for investors who want to gain exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). In fact, three crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) just started trading in Cboe Australia.
Three crypto ETFs started trading in Cboe Australia on Thursday, May 12, 2022, Cointelegraph reported. The trio’s launch marked the first crypto EFTs to go live in Australia giving investors in the country the chance to gain exposure on Bitcoin and Ether.
One of the newly launched ETFs came from the Sydney-based crypto investment firm Cosmos Asset Management. Named the Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC), the product “approximately tracks the performance of the USD denominated ETF non-currency hedged units (Purpose ETF Units) in the Purpose Bitcoin ETF.”
Meanwhile, Sydney-based ETF Securities launched the other two ETFs, which were developed in conjunction with 21Shares, an exchange-traded products provider based in Switzerland. Called the Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and Ethereum ETF (EETH), both products track the AUD value of the digital currencies.
However, the historic debut of the ETF was met with a lukewarm reception from Australian investors, according to the Financial Review. Investor inflows for ETF Securities’ EBTC and EETH already reached AUD954,925 and AUD604,305 respectively while Cosmos’ CBTC attracted AUD454,002 in debut-day trading. Previously, there were estimates that ETFs could lure in as much as $1 billion in investments.
But the ETFs’ underperformance is understandable, taking into account that their debut coincided with the recent decline of crypto prices. Bitcoin dropped to as low as $26,292 on May 12 before recovering to its current price of $30,506 per token, based on Coindesk data. Similarly, Ether dropped to a low of $1.792 on Thursday before bouncing to $2,113 at the time of writing.
Nevertheless, ETF Securities head of distribution Kanish Chugh remains optimistic. “Australian investor interest in cryptocurrencies has not waned in recent months even as we have seen underperformance,” he said, according to the Financial Times. “And with bitcoin’s recent sell-off as well, it may present an opportunity for investors who have been looking for attractive entry points into this new asset class.”
