Thailand approves first spot BTC ETF

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Thailand has joined the United States, Hong Kong and Australia in approving their first spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETF).

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to One Asset Management, a Bangkok-based wealth and portfolio management services firm, to offer the country’s first spot digital asset ETF.

Unlike its U.S. and Hong Kong counterparts, the Thai ETF will only be available to wealthy and institutional investors, Bangkok Post reports. The Thai SEC invited regulatory agencies from both countries to review the ETF prior to its approval.

“Digital assets are an alternative asset that have low correlation with other financial assets. They are suitable to help investors diversify investment risks,” commented One Asset CEO Pote Harinasuta.

The upcoming fund will reportedly invest in 11 global funds for enhanced liquidity and safety. One Asset also pledges to abide by global standards in BTC custody.

One Asset recommends that investors allocate 5% of their portfolio to digital assets. However, some, like Wall Street veteran and digital asset investor Cathy Wood, propose allocating as much as 20%.

Gary Gensler’s SEC approved BTC ETFs in January, sparking a wave of investment by global giants in the funds. However, legacy financial giants Fidelity and BlackRock (NASDAQ: BLK) emerged as the two frontrunners, and combined, they have attracted 80% of the $33 billion invested in BTC ETFs.

Gensler also recently gave the nod for Ethereum ETFs, but they are yet to launch.

In Australia, the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC), which is the country’s first spot BTC ETF, started trading on Tuesday. Monochrome is working with U.S. exchange Gemini as its BTC custodian, while State Street serves as the cash custodian.

The new ETF trades at Cboe, an alternative trading platform that competes with the larger Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). However, Bloomberg reported in April that ASX intends to debut similar products before the end of the year.

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