2024-04-30 07:37:01 Eastern Standard Time
Hong Kong made history by launching Asia's first Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) at an event attended by the country's leading financial market players.
ETFs issued by prominent Chinese companies such as China Asset Management, Vocera Asset Management, and Harvest Global Investments represent an important milestone in the region's financial landscape.
The debut of six spot crypto ETFs caught the attention of investors, with the spot Bitcoin ETFs by China AMC, Bosera Hashkey, and Harvest all experiencing gains of over 3% in early trading, but have since fallen by around It fell to 1.5%.
Meanwhile, three Ether ETFs initially traded above 1%, but have since turned negative.
Hong Kong leads Asia's crypto ETFs
Hong Kong's approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs demonstrates the city's commitment to establishing itself as a global digital asset hub. The move comes amid efforts to maintain its attractiveness as a financial center despite regulatory challenges and competition from other emerging hubs such as Singapore and Dubai.
Spearheaded by China Asset Management, Vocera Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments, Hong Kong aims to establish itself as a pioneer in the crypto ETF market.
China Asset Management executives hailed the launch as an important step, stressing that it will provide institutional and individual investors with access to a regulated market for crypto asset trading.
The launch of a Spot Ether ETF in Hong Kong is a departure from the US, where regulatory approval for such products is still pending. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved changes to allow Bitcoin ETFs, but not yet for Ether ETFs, giving Hong Kong an edge in the global crypto market.
Future outlook and investor sentiment
Despite initial positive reception, questions remain about the pace of growth in demand for crypto ETFs in the region.
Although regulatory approval has been granted for virtual asset management services, it remains unclear how quickly investors will adopt these products.
While some predict slow growth initially, others, like Harvest Global Investments CEO Tongli Han, are optimistic about long-term possibilities.
Han believes that Hong Kong's market potential exceeds that of the US market due to the city's ability to attract investors from both East and West.
HKEX also expects significant growth in spot crypto ETFs following the acceptance and growth of exchange-traded crypto futures ETFs from the second half of 2022.
The average daily volume of crypto futures ETFs listed on the exchange will increase from HK$8.9 million to HK$51.3 million (equivalent to $6.6 million) in the first quarter of 2024, the exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. ) reached. Dollars from a year ago.
Additionally, Nexo co-founder Antoni Trenchev emphasized the importance of being first in the region's crypto ETF market in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday.
He suggested that other countries in the region, including Japan, Singapore and South Korea, could follow suit in the coming years, further driving the growth of digital asset investment.
Demand remains uncertain after Asia’s first crypto ETF debuts in Hong Kong appeared first on Invezz
