Crypto-Asset Blog

Australian Bitcoin ETFs have been long demanded, and for good reason. They offer a regulated investment vehicle for wholesale and retail investors alike to invest their capital into bitcoin, while bypassing many challenges encountered with unregulated pathways.

Some market commentators point to bitcoin’s very high volatility as a major deterrent for use and investment; however, investors may be able to either minimise or otherwise utilise this volatility in a portfolio through varying familiar approaches.

In this paper we look at the criteria for index selection in a spot bitcoin ETP, with particular focus on the timing of the index. In a recent article, CF Benchmarks have analysed the suitability of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (BRR) for the creation of regulated products and more recently performed analysis comparing this to a Sydney-based time period. We draw on that analysis in this paper and expand on it in the context of the impact on the performance, costs and market dynamics when used in a passive bitcoin ETP.

As the Roads to an Australian Bitcoin ETF series draws to a close, Monochrome peel back the layers of our own market, examining ‘crypto industry baskets’, regulation, and what may lie ahead for Bitcoin ETFs in Australia.

Attention has recently been given to the addition of non-traditional investments such as bitcoin in SMSF portfolios. Before doing so, SMSF trustees should take steps to understand the asset class and most importantly obtain professional advice on how they can safely implement digital assets into portfolios to ensure they meet all their fiduciary obligations as SMSF trustees and that no issues arise during annual audits.

One of the most common criticisms of Bitcoin I hear is that it sounds like a cult or religion. I believe that the religious element of Bitcoin is a feature, not a bug. In fact, I would say the single final financial backstop that gives Bitcoin “value” is its religious adherents. To begin, however, we need to understand what religion means in the context of the True Bitcoin Believer.

In the third part of Monochrome’s “The Roads to an Australian Bitcoin ETF” series, the team explores the intricacies of European exchange traded products (ETPs) holding crypto assets and the challenges faced by European regulators in bringing these products to market.

In light of the March 2 release of the Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee’s (CSIAC’s) recent paper, Monochrome provide summary of the recommendations and perspectives offered.

In the second of Monochrome’s multi-part series on Bitcoin’s investment market evolution, the team delves deeper into Canadian markets and the court cases that defined them, the world’s first spot Bitcoin ETF and why not all first-mover advantages are equal.

In the first of a multi-part series on Bitcoin’s investment market evolution, Monochrome examines the journey taken in US markets to launch a Bitcoin ETF.