Australia-based asset manager Monochrome Asset Management has reportedly managed to obtain the nation’s first Australian financial services license (AFSL) for a spot crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF). 

Specifically, Jeff Yew, the Head of Monochrome Asset Management, reportedly disclosed that the AFSL greenlight is major, as up to this moment, Australia-based crypto ETFs that snatched the go-ahead only function under general financial asset authorization and only indirectly hold crypto-assets.

Yew further stated that Monochrome’s crypto ETFs, on the other hand, will hold the underlying crypto-assets in a direct manner, and received a particular greenlight from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) to carry out the task. 

“We see choice being a good thing for investors, particularly when dealing in the regulated space, as not all offerings are equal.” The Monochrome executive revealed that the approval serves as a major stride forward for both the advice sector and retail investors. 

”Investors investing in Monochrome’s ETFs will know that their funds are investing directly in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), and importantly within the regulatory rails established by ASIC specifically for crypto-assets”. 

There is no official timeline at the moment regarding the precise period the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) will be officially rolled out, but expectations to be September this year, as soon as the PDS and TMD have been generated and await regulatory greenlights.

As soon as the ETFs had its availability, Yew revealed “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.”

“Over time, and as the market matures, we will take an open-minded approach to make new products available.”