Monochrome ETF Monochrome ETF
Monochrome's IBTC started trading in Australia Tuesday. Monochrome Twitter Video/Screenshot

KEY POINTS

  • IBTC beats out Global X – 21Shares' EBTC as the former offers a 0.98% management fee
  • Monochrome has said IBTC is 'Australia's first ETF that holds Bitcoin directly'
  • Interest in spot BTC ETFs have skyrocketed since the US approved the funds in January

Australian asset manager Monochrome's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the Monochrome Bitcoin Trust (IBTC), has gone live on Cboe Australia with a management fee of 0.98%.

"The fund's objective is to provide investors with an investment return that tracks the price of Bitcoin in Australian dollars (before fees and costs)," Monochrome said of its IBTC. As for its strategy, the asset management firm said the investment manager will "implement a strictly passive buy and hold investment strategy for Bitcoin." The fund "will not use derivatives, leverage, or short selling."

Some posts on X (formerly Twitter) stated that IBTC is Australia's first spot BTC ETF, but senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said this is "not true" since Global X – 21Shares launched a Bitcoin ETF two years ago and has $72 million worth of assets under management (AUS).

Other outlets reporting on the development also said IBTC is the first fund in Australia to offer direct BTC holdings. Balchunas pointed out that the Global X – 21Shares BTC ETF (EBTC) also directly holds Bitcoin. "I don't blame the other issuer for trying to drum up interest, but they are #2 in that country," he reiterated. EBTC has a management fee of 1.25% and its product summary states that the Bitcoin ETF "offers exposure to physical Bitcoin."

Monochrome said in its announcement ahead of IBTC's day one trading that the ETF is "Australia's first ETF that holds Bitcoin directly." Last week, the asset manager hosted over a hundred guests in Sydney to celebrate the IBTC's upcoming launch. "This milestone marks a significant step in our journey [to] empower investors with the tools and confidence to navigate the digital financial landscape," the company said at the time.

The IBTC's launch follows the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) ETFs in Hong Kong late in April, as the rest of the world follows suit after the historical approval of the first spot BTC ETFs in the U.S. in January.

Prominent cryptocurrency investor HODL15Capital revealed that Hong Kong BTC ETFs snapped up 456 BTC on Monday, which is "more than 100% of daily new supply" in the Chinese special administrative region.

While activity in Hong Kong has yet to reach the levels at which American Bitcoin ETFs are performing, the new BTC buys could suggest increasing interest in the funds outside the U.S., especially after the recent approval of 19b-4 filings for spot Ether ETFs.

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