Australian Investment management firm Monochrome has launched the first Australian spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the ticker IETH. It will begin trading on Monday in the Cboe global markets.
Monochrome has been at the forefront of crypto ETF adoption in the Australian financial market. It launched its first Bitcoin ETF, IBTC, which has taken in about $10.1 million since earlier this year.
Monochrome’s Australian Ether ETF
Monochrome’s IETH will closely track the benchmark price for Ethereum, calculated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Crypto Facilities (CF), and will be specifically tailored to market conditions and trading hours in the Asian Pacific region.
Setting up IETH in the same range as its U.S. competitors, Monochrome has reduced its management fee from 0.50% to 0.21% per annum.
Following its launch, IETH will be broadly available on the most popular Australian brokerage platforms, offering seamless flexibility for institutional investors. Additionally, it will allow investors to transfer funds into the ETF from self-custodial wallets, centralized crypto exchanges, and cold wallets.
Renowned crypto firms like BitGo and Gemini will offer IETH’s custody services, while State Street Australia will act as the ETF’s fund administrator. Combining these firms, Monochrome plans to achieve secure asset storage, professional oversight, and comprehensive management of IETH assets.
The financial giant has revealed plans to integrate a dual-access bare trust structure as a feature to enhance tax efficiency.
The structure is designed to minimize tax liabilities for IETH investors. It allows long-term crypto investors to transfer or convert their ETH holdings into the corresponding Monochrome ETF while maintaining existing tax positions.
“A ‘bare trust’ means that your investment in the ETF may be treated as if you directly own the Ethereum,” Monochrome’s CEO, Jeff Yew, commented.
Australian Crypto ETF Journey
Following the approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. earlier this year, Australia joined the trend, greenlighting a few filings.
Notably, Monochrome was the first asset manager in the continent to bag secure approval from its financial watchdog, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC).
Meanwhile, the ASIC has revealed plans to update the Corporations Act’s Information Sheet 225 to clarify how crypto tokens and products should be treated. The agency has also proposed that crypto firms obtain financial services licenses to continue operating within its region.
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