Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published its guidance for licensed providers on ETPs linked to crypto on Friday. It is expected to improve transparency and protect investors.
For a crypto to be used for an ETP, it needs to have a mature spot market, regulated futures market, reputable and experienced service providers, a high level of institutional support, and robust and transparent pricing mechanisms.
According to ASIC, Bitcoin and Ether “appear likely to satisfy” all five of the abovementioned factors to “determine appropriate underlying assets for an ETP.”
“We expect the range of non-financial product crypto-assets that can satisfy these factors will expand over time,” the securities regulator added.
The corporate watchdog has also introduced a new “crypto-asset” section in its licensing applications for the holders of underlying assets.
“Crypto-assets have unique characteristics and risks that must be considered by product issuers and market operators in meeting their existing regulatory obligations,” said ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour.
Australia has $3.35 Trillion in pension funds.
$822 Billion of this is self-managed by the primary beneficiary.
Spot #Bitcoin ETFs allow direct and easy access.
This is HUGE! 💥🚀
— Bitcoin Archive 🗄🚀🌔 (@BTC_Archive) October 29, 2021
Recently, a senate report urged Australia to introduce new laws, including a licensing regime for crypto miners and tax discounts to compete with other countries.
This week, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking crypto miners and infrastructure providers also debuted in Australia.
The Cosmos Global Digital Miners Access ETF (DIGA) won’t directly hold any crypto but will include firms like Riot Blockchain Inc., Marathon Digital Holdings Inc., Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd., and Hut 8 Mining Corp. It will trade on the Chi-X Australia exchange.
According to a report from earlier this month, Australia has the third-highest rate of crypto ownership at 17.8% compared to the global average of 11.4%.
Nearly 1 in 5 adults in Australia own some crypto in 2021 worth A$8 billion ($6.02 billion). Bitcoin is the most popular one as 65.2% of Australians own the leading crypto, followed by Ether (42.1%), Cardano (26.4%), Dogecoin (23%), and BNB (14.6%), found the comparison site Finder in its survey.
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