Australian crypto-asset agency Monochrome Group has registered its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs with Singapore’s Financial Authority, marking a strategic enlargement into Southeast Asian markets amid rising institutional demand for regulated digital asset merchandise.
“We’re bringing Monochrome to South East Asia, beginning with getting the primary Australian Bitcoin ETF registered with the Financial Authority of Singapore,” CEO Jeff Yew advised Decrypt.
The agency’s Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) and Ethereum ETF (IETH) secured registration as restricted schemes, enabling entry for accredited or institutional buyers by means of Singapore’s regulated monetary framework, which locations a minimal of S$200,000 per transaction.
These new merchandise enable each Bitcoin and money subscriptions and redemptions, addressing diversified institutional necessities within the area.
“It is not about chasing value strikes—it is about constructing actual infrastructure and giving establishments, buyers, and even governments higher entry to Bitcoin,” Yew mentioned, reflecting on Sunday’s market rout which triggered over $2 billion in liquidations.
Monochrome’s enlargement features a strategic partnership with Anadara Capital to strengthen institutional companies. The corporate enhanced its infrastructure by onboarding BitGo Belief Firm for custody companies on each ETF merchandise, addressing safety issues widespread amongst institutional buyers.
The Australian agency plans to construct out regional workplaces throughout the yr 2025 because it focuses on ironing out regulatory compliance and its engagements with establishments.
In October final yr, the agency labored on launching Australia’s first “true” spot Ethereum ETF on Cboe.
Reducing by means of the noise
Monochrome’s enlargement into Southeast Asia with regulated crypto ETFs from Singapore arrives amid broader market turbulence, together with commerce tensions impacting conventional property like equities and currencies.
Establishments are more and more viewing regulated digital asset merchandise as portfolio hedges in opposition to geopolitical and macroeconomic instability, driving demand for compliant choices like IBTC/IETH.
The crypto market massacre over the weekend noticed roughly 11.4% of its market cap wiped during the last 24 hours, in line with information from CoinGecko.
“We have seen Bitcoin undergo each form of macro cycle through the years—it is constructed for this,” Yew mentioned. “Institutional buyers do not get caught in short-term noise, that is why we’re targeted on fundamentals and increasing entry to the asset the place it is wanted most.”
The transfer aligns with Asia’s rising function as a crypto regulatory hub whereas Western markets face political uncertainty over digital asset insurance policies.
Monochrome’s MAS-approved ETFs present a blueprint for integrating crypto into mainstream finance by means of rigorous compliance frameworks, contrasting with ad-hoc approaches in unstable jurisdictions.
Yew describes Bitcoin as a “distinctive commodity” whose “short-term volatility” is “purely attributable to fluctuations in demand.”
In impact, Yew sees the current macro market actions as having “no trigger or impression to the underlying provide or protocol rigidity.”
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
