Hong Kong’s first crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted over $73 million ahead of their debut on the region’s stock exchange. The launch of the two ETFs tracking cryptocurrency futures listed in the United States comes despite the industry’s current troubles.
Hong Kong Debuts Bitcoin and Ether Futures ETFs Amid Crypto Winter
Two ETFs tracking crypto futures raised a total of $73.6 million ahead of their debut on the stock exchange in Hong Kong on Friday, with the larger one raising $53.9 million, according to Reuters. The news agency noted that the launch is in defiance of the ongoing turmoil in the sector.
The funds, offered by CSOP Asset Management, invest in bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures listed on the CME exchange in the U.S., the only crypto assets allowed by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) at the moment. Commenting on the development Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP, stated:
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.
This year’s crypto market downturn led to a significant drop in the prices of major cryptocurrencies with the largest coin by capitalization, BTC, losing more than 70% of its value since its all-time high registered a little over a year ago.
The slide in the rates was accompanied by a string of failures in the industry, the latest of which was the collapse of FTX, a leading crypto exchange with global reach, which declared bankruptcy in mid-November amid liquidity issues.
Weeks before its crash, the SFC announced in October its intentions to launch a consultation on whether to allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies and ETFs. The watchdog’s initial proposal was to limit participation to professional investors only.
Then, in November, the Commission’s Deputy CEO Julia Leung was quoted as saying that the SFC is “actively looking” to establish a regulatory framework that would allow the trading of crypto futures exchange-traded funds.
“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,” Yi Wang elaborated now.
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