Monochrome Asset Management files for ‘Australia’s first’ spot Ether ETF

The difficulties that Ethereum ETFs have encountered in the US market have not stopped Monochrome Asset Management from filing to list an Ethereum ETF in Australia. The ETF is thought to be the first of its kind in the country.

The Australian crypto investment management firm wants to list the Ether ETF on Cboe Australia under the ticker IETH, hopefully by the end of the month.

Monochrome seeks positive ruling in its latest ETF filing

On September 5, the Australian management firm revealed it had filed an application for an Ethereum ETF designed to trade and hold ether assets directly. The asset manager is optimistic that its application will be approved by the month’s end, with the fund IETH to be launched on Cboe Australia by then.

Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome Asset Management, expressed high expectations of the Ether ETF. He thinks the ETF’s in-kind subscription model, which permits investments in fiat or alternative digital assets, will be particularly attractive to investors.

Yew also commented on Australia’s crypto space, claiming it was much more accommodating to digital assets than other countries. He added that ETFs are “unplugging a stopgap,” allowing the market to embrace fully regulated assets.

He elaborated:

Dozens and dozens of crypto exchanges have been offering services to retail investors and some professional investors for the better part of a decade, so there is already a lot of investment in crypto. […] Now more and more crypto that had been previously held on exchanges is now being funneled into a regular structure like an ETF.

Yew

Monochrome’s spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia

Earlier in June, Monochrome Asset Management released its Bitcoin ETF, which directly holds Bitcoin assets. The Bitcoin Exchange Trade Fund (IBTC) was one of the first to earn approval in Australia under the country’s crypto asset licensing category. 

By September 5, IBTC had invested about 11.4 million Australian dollars, equivalent to almost $8 million. Jeff Yew remarked that several individuals are moving their custody points from exchanges into his company’s Bitcoin ETF, contributing substantially to IBTC’s growth. 

While the asset manager’s Bitcoin ETF has been performing fairly well, its investments are slightly lower compared to the top US Bitcoin ETFs and some Australian-based funds.