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Hong Kong approves first exchange-traded fund to track digital assets Bitcoin and Ether, boosting broader markets, and US launches first spot Bitcoin ETF, according to statements from multiple issuers on Monday Earlier this year, Hong Kong became Asia's first city to offer the popular product.
Hong Kong has approved crypto ETFs, according to asset managers.
important facts
A number of asset management companies said they had received initial approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to begin launching crypto ETFs, according to statements on social media platform WeChat and media reports.
In separate statements, at least three Chinese offshore asset management companies indicated that they plan to launch spot ETFs soon.
These include the Hong Kong arm of Harvest Fund Management and the partnership between Vocera Asset Management and Hashkey Capital, which announced that it has been approved to list crypto products in Hong Kong.
China Asset Management's Hong Kong unit also secured regulatory approval and said it is investing in the development of crypto products.
The social media announcement appears to have overrode any official announcement from the SFC, which has not released an official statement regarding the approval and did not immediately respond to Forbes' request for comment.
Some of the company's social media posts announcing the approval have since been deleted, CoinDesk said.
news peg
Bitcoin and Ethereum have risen about 3% and 6%, respectively, over the past 24 hours and were trading above $66,000 and $3,250, respectively, early Monday. The long-awaited news from Hong Kong increased interest in the two tokens and the broader crypto market, helping to prompt the beginning of a recovery from a disastrous weekend. The prices of Bitcoin and Ether, the world's two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, fell along with the broader market amid concerns of escalating conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched an attack on Israel. Led by Bitcoin and Ether, the market fell below $1 trillion after a series of crashes and high-profile failures and scandals a few years ago, including the debacle of Sam Bankman Fried's FTX exchange. After that, he made a remarkable recovery this year. The rise in the digital asset space can be difficult to explain, as the industry is notoriously volatile and often defies the logic of traditional financial markets, but this recent boom has seen a rise in crypto exchange-traded investments. It appears to be fueled by growing investor enthusiasm with increased approvals of trusts (ETFs) and Bitcoin, features built into the mathematical foundations of cryptocurrencies that have historically driven up prices. There is an impending supply shortage due to the half-life of
What to watch out for
The Securities and Exchange Commission first approved a Bitcoin ETF in January, and similar approvals in other jurisdictions are taking an interest in the asset. Enthusiasts are hopeful that regulators will give the green light to Ether-based products in the near future, but industry experts are reportedly skeptical about the chances of a Spot Ether ETF gaining U.S. approval. It is being
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2.54 trillion dollars. That is the value of the entire cryptocurrency market. The market has risen nearly 4% in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin has a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion, accounting for more than half of the cryptocurrency market. Ether is the second most powerful cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, accounting for about 15% of the market, with a total value of about $390 billion.
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