After the Lunar New Year, will there be a Bitcoin spot ETF in Hong Kong? According to Tencent News, CSOP Asset Management in Hong Kong has submitted an application for a Bitcoin spot ETF to the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. However, both CSOP Asset Management and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong have not made any comments on this matter yet.
Currently, there are already three virtual asset futures ETFs listed in Hong Kong. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong expressed in December last year that they are ready to accept authorization applications for virtual asset spot ETFs and related funds. Today, according to Tencent News, CSOP Asset Management in Hong Kong has submitted an application for a Bitcoin spot ETF to the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, becoming the first institution in Hong Kong to propose such a product. However, CSOP Asset Management in Hong Kong has not made any comments on this matter yet.
It is reported that the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong is likely to follow the practice of the United States and approve multiple institutions’ applications for Bitcoin spot ETFs at once. However, apart from CSOP Asset Management, no other institutions have submitted applications in Hong Kong for the time being. Although some institutions, such as Southern Vanguard, have had multiple communications with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, they have not yet submitted applications.
Analysts in the Hong Kong financial industry believe that even if the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong approves applications for multiple institutions’ Bitcoin spot ETFs at once, the performance in the Hong Kong market may be similar to that in the US market. In the US market, large institutions such as BlackRock and Fidelity Funds have experienced rapid growth in the scale of their spot ETFs, mainly because these institutions already have a wide range of investor groups and sufficient customer channels. This phenomenon may also occur in the Hong Kong market.
Investment managers of Hong Kong family offices are highly interested in Hong Kong spot ETFs. Due to previous restrictions on investment categories and complex operations, they have not directly invested in the Bitcoin market. Nevertheless, they believe that the subscription scale of Hong Kong spot ETFs may differ from that in the US. In addition, compared to US spot ETFs, Hong Kong spot ETFs may increase the option of direct purchase of Bitcoin. Currently, there has been no official response from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.
Will there be the first virtual asset spot ETF in Asia after the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States this month? Previously, there were rumors that issuers were actively preparing, and VSFG, a Hong Kong financial services company, revealed that it had reached a cooperation intention with a Hong Kong fund company and was preparing to submit an application for a Bitcoin spot ETF, hoping to formally submit it before the Lunar New Year and launch it in the first quarter. The initial expectation is that the asset management scale can reach $500 million by the end of this year.
Furthermore, Bloomberg reported that CSOP Asset Management, fintech expert RD Technologies, and VSFG are discussing the regulatory sandbox plan for stablecoins with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. This plan aims to establish a regulatory framework to predict and test stablecoins, but it is uncertain whether all participating institutions will be approved by the end of March. A spokesperson for the Monetary Authority stated that they are preparing to launch this plan and will announce details in due course. Rita Liu, the COO of RD Technologies, stated that they are seeking to launch a stablecoin called HKDR for cross-border payments, among other purposes.