Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved several applications to launch Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs. The first to receive approval were asset management companies China Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments, Bosera Capital and HashKey Capital Limited, local media write.
Hong Kong aims to become a global hub for crypto assets
China Asset Management has partnered with OSL Digital Securities and BOC International Prudential Trusteeship to launch the ETF. Together, the firms will issue exchange-traded funds in two major cryptocurrencies. Harvest is another company that has received in-principle approval from the SFC. The asset manager will also present two ETFs for Bitcoin and Ethereum. For this purpose, the company also cooperates with OSL.
Bosera and HashKey merged at the beginning of April this year. As part of the collaboration, the investment giants plan to focus on developing new products.
“We will focus mainly on spot ETFs, blockchain technology and fintech. “The two sides will jointly develop new products, conduct research and introduce new technologies, and cooperate in talent training, technology exchange, market expansion, etc., promoting the development of Hong Kong as an international virtual asset center,” the press release stated.
Companies will likely need at least two weeks to prepare and launch a new tool. Investment products could hit the Hong Kong market by the end of the month.
The Crypto Market is Recovering
According to tradingview, BTC has risen in price by 2.4% over the past 24 hours. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $66,636.
By the end of last week, Bitcoin, like the broader crypto market, began to plummet. Over the weekend, the price of the asset dropped to $60 thousand. The main factor behind such negative dynamics was the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran.
The Ethereum price has dropped by 5.8% over the past seven days. At its minimum, the cost of the second cryptocurrency dropped to $2,900. However, to date, the price of ETH has recovered to $3,200 over the past 24 hours, the asset has collectively risen in price by 4.8%.
With the approval of spot ETFs for two major cryptocurrencies, Hong Kong aims to cement its status as a global digital asset hub. The region is actively developing a regulatory framework for the crypto market, creating a favorable environment for it.
In the United States, the instrument has raised a total of about $59 billion since its launch in January this year. Such an influx of capital into such an instrument is likely to have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s reputation and attract even more investors to the city.
