Hong Kong approved a first batch of applications for spot bitcoin and ether Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) trading. Consequently, the price of bitcoin rebounded above $66,000, after having touched $60,000 yesterday following news of Iran's attack on Israel.
This Monday, April 15, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) gave initial approval for asset managers China Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments to launch their spot ETFs for bitcoin and ether counting on the OSL exchange as subcustodian of your funds. An initial approval means that the SFC gives the green light to the launch of ETFs after reviewing their structure, investment strategy and regulatory compliance. However, approval is not final and applicants must still satisfy regulatory requirements and submit documentation before trading is available on the Hong Kong exchange.
For their part, asset manager Bosera Asset Management and HashKey Capital received conditional approval for their cryptocurrency ETFs, according to The Block. However, they did not clarify what conditional approval entails.The approval of spot ETFs in Hong Kong was an event expected for weeks. Given the success that this instrument has had in the United States, investors have reacted enthusiastically to the news, driving a rebound in the prices of bitcoin and ether of 2.5% and 5%, respectively, in the last 24 hours. .Bitcoin price bounced above 66,000 following ETF approval.
The impact of the news has probably been attenuated by the defensive position that investors have assumed in the face of so-called risk assets after the escalation of the war conflict in the Middle East . However, the potential inflow of capital opened by the approval of ETFs in Hong Kong should not be underestimated, facilitating exposure to the price of bitcoin and ether for Asian institutions.
With the approval of the ether ETFs, Hong Kong is ahead of the United States, whose securities regulator has until May 23 to make a decision regarding the application of the VanEck firm's fund.
According to the CEO of the firm Metalpha, Adrian Wang, the approval of spot ETFs for ether in Hong Kong could have a greater impact for the Ethereum cryptocurrency than it would have for bitcoin, while institutional investors have various regulated vehicles to get exposure to bitcoin, such as mining company stocks, but “there are no stocks linked to ether at the moment,” Wang stated.
