VanEck has marked its first anniversary of mainstream bitcoin exposure in Australia, following the June 2024 launch of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the ASX.
The milestone comes amid a broader surge in global adoption, with bitcoin exchange-traded products accumulating over $80 billion in assets since early 2024.
According to the ETF provider, VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF (ASX: VBTC) leads the local market, reaching $290 million in total net assets as of 26 June 2025, with recent analysis from the firm indicating that mass affluent investors are drawn to the product, with the average investment in VBTC standing at $35,000.
At the time of VTBC’s launch, ASX general manager of investment products and strategy, Andrew Campion, said the exchange had been working on introducing a cryptocurrency asset ETF to the market for a number of years, including the establishment of a new category of permissible underlying assets for ETFs in August 2022 (which included bitcoin and Ether).
ETFs have “changed the game” for bitcoin, according to Arian Neiron, CEO and MD of VanEck Asia-Pacific, and has given investors exposure to the cryptocurrency’s price momentum “without the risk and complication of holding the digital asset directly”.
“We are witnessing various use cases emerge as investors explore the role bitcoin can play in their portfolios, ranging from an alternative store of value through to a high beta technology play,” Neiron added.
As bitcoin reaches new heights, hitting US$108,756 as of 10:52am (AEST) Monday, 30 June 2025, Neiron further stated the “upside potential is significant”.
“But it is important to note that bitcoin’s evolution as an asset class is still in its early stages,” Neiron said.
“It remains a polarising asset class, with many financial professionals considering bitcoin speculative due to its price volatility and a lack of conviction in its investment thesis.”
While it was the first to list on the ASX, VanEck’s VBTC is not the only bitcoin ETF on the exchange, with the launch of the DigitalX Bitcoin ETF (ASX: BTXX) in July last year.
InvestorDaily previously covered the competition for Australia’s first bitcoin ETF, with each fund manager asserting their claim to the title.
Global X was first to enter the market back in 2022, when it listed both a bitcoin ETF and an Ethereum ETF on Cboe. Monochrome was next, listing a bitcoin ETF (IBTC) on Cboe in June, a few weeks before VanEck announced it was listing its product VBTC on the ASX.
DigitalX was the most recent firm to join this group and the most recent to assert that it was breaking new ground, saying it is the “only ASX-listed locally domiciled ETF offering direct exposure to bitcoin”.
VanEck, however, claims it was the first in Australia to lodge a submission for a bitcoin ETF while also becoming the first to successfully list on the ASX.
“We have been engaged with bringing a spot bitcoin ETF to ASX since early 2021. We were the first fund manager to work with the regulator and exchange on the mechanics, and the first to formally lodge a submission for a bitcoin ETF to ASX. We resubmitted our bitcoin ETF application to the ASX in February this year. We are known for our innovation in funds management and plan on bringing the first bitcoin ETF to ASX investors,” Neiron said in 2024.
Australia now has four spot bitcoin ETFs, with slightly differing structures.
