The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has granted formal listing status to a pair of bitcoin ETFs for the first time. Asset manager CSOP announces that its bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have attracted close to $79 million as they prepare to debut on the Hong Kong stock market today.
According to a press release, the fund management established new exchange-traded funds (ETF) for bitcoin and ether futures on December 16, the same day the funds became active on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CSOP claims this will be the first time listed bitcoin and ether futures ETFs are made available in Asia.
3/3 There are signs of China coming back to the crypto market.
– The first Bitcoin Futures ETF in China raised $79M in trading debut.
– Growing volumes in both spot and derivatives markets in @okxLive Dashboard 👇https://t.co/8grPPTBVjp pic.twitter.com/IdPBm9NrYY
— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) January 10, 2023
China is changing its stand on crypto
With many predicting a Bitcoin surge, the launch is notable because, even though Hong Kong has its own autonomous financial and legal system, the Chinese government formally plans to criminalize cryptocurrency commerce and mining in September of 2021. This makes Hong Kong’s debut particularly noteworthy. The two new funds will be actively managed to make investments in bitcoin and ether futures that are made available on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) to track the values of each cryptocurrency.
The approval of two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on CME Group’s Bitcoin and Ether futures is a significant milestone for the digital asset ecosystem in Asia, according to Tim McCourt, Global Head of Equity and FX Products at CME Group. “The approval of these two new ETFs represents a significant milestone for the digital asset ecosystem in Asia.”
CSOP was the company that first created the first Metaverse ETF in Hong Kong, and it was listed on the HK Stock Exchange in February of this year.
Although several spot bitcoin funds have been presented to the SEC for approval, they have yet to be given the green light. On the other hand, the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds in the United States were allowed in 2017.
ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF, a bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund launched in the United States the previous year, attracted more than one billion dollars worth of trading activity within its first two trading days at the height of the bull market. The ETF has had net inflows of $1.8 billion and net withdrawals of $619 million since it was first launched, even though the underlying value of bitcoin has decreased by almost 70 percent over the same period.
