As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in global market trends, I’m thrilled to see Hong Kong taking the lead in the crypto space by introducing spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. Having witnessed the surge of interest in digital assets across Asia, I believe this move will significantly boost the region’s adoption and liquidity.


Hong Kong’s stock exchange has initiated trading of spot Bitcoin and the debut Ethereum spot ETFs starting from 09:30 local hour, signifying that the financial hub is fully operational in this cryptocurrency arena.

Based on the information provided on the HKEX website, fourteen new crypto asset exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have begun trading – marking a first for Asia in this area.

As a researcher studying Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), I’ve come across three issuers – China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, and Harvest Global Investations – each having introduced their own ETF products. These issuers have been designated unique ticker symbols: CAM for China Asset Management, BOS for Bosera Asset Management, and HGI for Harvest Global Investments.

Asia Leading The Way

Brian Roberts, the head of equities product development at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, spoke with Bloomberg. He expressed that we could keep expanding our offerings in the physical stock market, possibly including complex product types. At some point, we might even delve into leveraged and inverse investment strategies.

Before exploring other options, it’s crucial to keep a close eye on the progress and growth of recent introductions first.

As a crypto investor, I’m excited about the confidence shown by ETF issuers in the success of their products in our region. In particular, Zhu Haokang, head of digital asset management firm China Asset Management, predicts that Hong Kong’s launch day will surpass that of America’s. At a press briefing on April 29th, he shared this optimistic outlook.

With a high degree of certainty, Hong Kong’s virtual asset spot ETF’s initial offering size of over US$125 million could surpass the first-day issuance amount in the United States.

As a researcher examining the data, I observed that the volume of transactions for the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF surpassed the country’s capital inflow on its debut trading day. According to my analysis, this trend was evident from the numbers. – Wayne Huang, Head of Custody Firm OSL ETF.

Crypto analyst Willy Woo made an observation that the number of users in the Asian market surpasses the total user base in both the United States and Europe.

At present, Gabor Gurbacs, the founder of PointVille, stated that the race for approving a Bitcoin ETF between the East and the West is intensifying. It’s important to note that Hong Kong won’t introduce crypto ETFs unless they secure China’s consent.

The East-West competition to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is intensifying. Hong Kong won’t introduce Bitcoin ETFs without China’s consent. China aims to challenge institutions in Bitcoin management, with a full-blown adoption strategy at play. The game theory of nation states has commenced. Let the competition begin!

— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) April 29, 2024

“ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated that this will be the initial opportunity for us to observe the comparative popularity of Ethereum versus Bitcoin through the lens of an ETF.”

Crypto Market Reaction

Bitcoin’s price reached a peak of $64,555 right before its launch, but later dipped down to $63,400 as I write this. Since late February, the cryptocurrency has stayed within a limited price range.

As a researcher studying the cryptocurrency market, I’ve observed Ethereum reaching a peak price of $3,244 during the intraday trading session, marking significant interest due to being the world’s first spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). However, at launch time, it experienced a sharp decline, dropping down to $3,148 before demonstrating early signs of recovery.

The effects of Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs on the market are yet to be fully understood an hour after their launch.

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2024-04-30 08:36