Hong Kong is set to become the first city in Asia to offer spot Bitcoin ETFs, with the first approvals expected to be announced next week. This timeline will significantly exceed industry expectations for implementation later this year.
Regulators have accelerated the approval process to increase the city's attractiveness for financial trading. This comes at a time when Hong Kong is trying to regain its status as a global financial center affected by pandemic restrictions, China's economic problems and Sino-US tensions.
Adrian Wang, CEO of Metalpha, a Hong Kong-based crypto asset manager, noted the far-reaching importance of Hong Kong ETFs. He stated that they could attract new global investments and increase crypto adoption to unprecedented levels.
The US launched the first US-listed ETFs to track the spot BTC price in January, attracting net inflows of approximately $12 billion.
At least four asset managers from mainland China and Hong Kong have filed to launch Bitcoin ETFs. China Asset Management, Harvest Fund Management and Bosera Asset Management's Hong Kong units are among the applicants.
The parent companies of these firms are some of the largest investment fund firms in China, each managing over 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in assets. Despite the ban on cryptocurrency trading in mainland China, offshore Chinese financial institutions are showing keen interest in developing crypto assets in Hong Kong.
Value Partners, a Hong Kong-based firm, has also expressed interest in launching a spot Bitcoin ETF, but has not disclosed whether it has filed an application.
*This is not investment advice.
