Jeff Yew, CEO of Monochrome Asset Management, told Cointelegraph that the AFSL clearance is noteworthy because, up until now, approved crypto ETFs in Australia have only been able to operate under general financial asset authorisation and have only had indirect ownership of crypto assets.
Yew pointed out that Monochrome’s crypto ETFs, in contrast, will hold the underlying crypto-assets directly and are expressly permitted to do so by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC), Cointelegraph noted.
Meanwhile, Monochrome executive said that the approval represents a significant step forward for the advice industry and also for retail investors. “We see choice being a good thing for investors, particularly when dealing in the regulated space, as not all offering are equal,” Yew noted.
ETHs are made available, Yew said, “Monochrome will focus on BTC and ETH because they are the only two crypto-assets currently identified by ASIC as being suitable for retail ETF exposure.”
According to Yew, operating under an AFSL with a direct crypto-asset authorisation means that the fund and the issuer are subject to strict ASIC scrutiny. New regulated investment options are made available to direct retail investors and through qualified financial advisers after AFSL authorisation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has evaluated and determined that the licensee has the necessary experience in crypto-assets to run ETFs that directly contain Bitcoin and Ethereum, which is why the Australian Financial Services Licence variation was approved. The ETF plan has been in the works since February 2022, Cointelegraph noted.
As a result, investors have additional protections based on ASIC’s Report 705 that include appropriate benchmarking against the spot price and custody options that comply with Australian law.
(With insights from Cointelegraph)