Australian Asset Manager Removes Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs After Just 6 Months

The asset manager behind two of Australia’s first crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has applied to delist the much-hyped investment vehicles just months after launching.

The fund responsible for Cosmos Asset Management’s ETFs said in a letter to the local securities and derivatives exchange Cboe that it would apply to withdraw its Bitcoin and Ethereum funds from the market.

Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC) and Cosmos Purpose Ethereum Access ETF (CPET) were both launched in May this year, along with two rival funds listed on the same day, marking the first funds to list on the Australian stock market.

Another fund that invested in crypto mining companies under the ticker DIGA will also deducted from the market.

The process of launching the funds had been slow, affected by delays right up to the last moment before the IPO.

When CBTC started trading on May 12, 2022, the crypto world was in meltdown over the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

The resulting bear market is believed to have contributed to Cosmos’ difficulties, sources said says the Australian Financial Review that the company struggled to get enough funding to cover the high costs of running the fund.

During its six months of trading, the price of Cosmos’ CBTC ETF fell almost 19%, while CPET was down around 13.8%. Trading in both was halted on Monday.

Cosmos had previously been owned by Nasdaq-listed bitcoin miner Mawson Infrastructure, which operates mining facilities in both the US and Australia.

But the firm decided to sell Cosmos after deciding it didn’t want to be in the “long game” of ETFs, Mawson chief executive James Manning said. AFR.

Decrypt has contacted Cosmos with a request for comment.

Crypto ETFs down under

Cosmos worked with Canadian firm Purpose Investment and custody specialist Gemini Trust to set up the funds. K2 Asset Management is the entity responsible for both CBTC and CPET, while One Investment Group is responsible for DIGA.

Despite the delistings, CEO Dan Annan said in a statement AFR that the firm still “strongly” believes in the asset class.

Meanwhile, two rival funds launched by ETF specialist Graham Tuckwell, which began trading on the same day as Cosmos’ vehicles, are still in the running.

But they have not been immune to the market downturn.

At today’s price, the Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) was down 18% from its original trading price in May, while the Global X 21Shares Ethereum ETF (EETH) was down just 6.4%.

Today, Bitcoin trades hands for approximately $20,000 and Ethereum trades at $1,539.