Australian tech and investment company DigitalX has chosen major exchange Coinbase to provide custody services for its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The DigitalX Bitcoin ETF (BTXX) is now one of at least 10 spot Bitcoin ETFs with Coinbase as its custodian.
As crypto acceptance and usage increase in Australia, adoption is also set to rise. In addition to investment through spot Bitcoin ETFs, digital assets are also useful in Australia’s entertainment industry, especially with online casinos. With rising crypto popularity, more players are willing to find a crypto casino in Australia where they can use digital assets to enjoy exciting casino games with great bonuses, blockchain security, and unmatched privacy. Beyond the entertainment sector, cryptocurrencies are also gaining traction in Australia for everyday transactions, including online shopping and remittances. Businesses are increasingly accepting digital assets as payment, offering customers a faster, more secure, and decentralized way to complete purchases and transfer funds internationally.
The official BTXX page reveals the ETF was launched on July 12 by DigitalX Asset Management Pty Ltd (DXAM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DigitalX Limited, a blockchain-focused investment management company. According to the page, the fund’s strategy is to be a passive Bitcoin holder and will only buy and sell Bitcoin for redemptions and the creation of Bitcoin Interests.
Before the launch, DigitalX Chief Executive Officer Lisa Wade said the plan is to attract new players into the market. Wade also said BTXX will hopefully encourage institutions to make room for strategic allocations in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
BTXX is the second spot Bitcoin ETF listed by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In June, the ASX listed the VanEck Bitcoin ETF, a move considered a significant contribution to the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the Australian financial market.
Australia’s foray into the spot BTC ETF space follows the approval of similar products in the US. In January, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot BTC ETFs for the first time after more than ten years of rejections. Following the greenlight, other countries, including Australia and Hong Kong, began to explore ETFs. Both countries have since approved multiple ETF products that are now trading locally. According to data from crypto platform SoSoValue, US spot BTC ETFs have $51.47 billion in total net assets, while Hong Kong products are at $248.71 million.
Although cryptocurrencies are legal in Australia, they are largely unregulated. Nonetheless, authorities are focused on sanitizing the sector and bringing erring entities to book. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has amended its crypto data program and will collect 2014 - 2016 data from all crypto exchanges legally operating in the country. The ATO data collection program is extensive as it will gather names, emails, addresses, social media accounts, and IP addresses of 1.2 million crypto investors annually. According to Adam Saville-Brown, the General Manager of crypto tax reporting software company Koinly, the ATO’s focus is addressing non-compliance.
Australia is also fighting crypto crime and recently partnered with blockchain data platform Chainalysis. A joint effort between Chainalysis and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) became necessary following a sophisticated phishing attack that compromised at least 2,000 crypto wallets. Through a scam known as approval phishing, scammers have stolen more than $4 billion worth of cryptocurrency since May 2021.
Approval phishing is a scam that deceives victims into signing malicious blockchain transactions. These scams may target large wallet holders at exchanges and crypto gambling platforms and exploit users to gain unauthorized access to their funds.