Hong Kong Welcomes 1st Bitcoin ETF

Sahana Kiran
Bitcoin
Source – Pixabay

Time and again, throughout the bear market, the crypto-verse has pointed out that adoption did not take a back seat. Developments pertaining to crypto projects were taking place in full swing. Global crypto adoption followed suit. As Bitcoin [BTC] witnessed a slight recovery Hong Kong opened the doors to its very first BTC exchange-traded funds [ETF].

A recent report revealed that two ETFs that track U.S.-listed crypto futures have managed to veer into Hong Kong. These ETFs are reportedly managed by CSOP Asset Management. This platform has been seeking approval to list ETFs that invest in Bitcoin and Ether [ETH] futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange [CME].

After raising $73.6 million, these ETFs are expected to make their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. This is would be the region’s very first Securities and Futures Commission [SFC] permitted crypto ETF. Each ETF will trade for HK$780 each on the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing [HKEX].

Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP addressed the same and said,

“Coming after the recent liquidity problems affecting some of the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs demonstrate that Hong Kong remains open-minded on the development of virtual assets.”

Hong Kong and Crypto ETFs

Hong Kong has been making headlines for its recent efforts in regulating the crypto market. It should be noted that back in October the government opened up doors for consultation with regard to retail investors pouring their funds into crypto and ETFs. While the government wanted to limit this to advanced traders, things have definitely changed.

Further elaborating on Hong Kong’s latest move, Wang stated,

“As the ETFs do not invest in physical bitcoin, and are traded on regulated U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges, there are more regulatory safeguards for investors compared to tokens traded on unregulated platforms.”

Additionally, at press time, Bitcoin was trading for $17,702 with a 0.98 percent daily drop.