Posted by Xoken.org – News emerged that a company that is part of Chinese asset manager Harvest Fund Management Co has the opportunity to get approval to trade Bitcoin spot ETFs this April.
This approval from Hong Kong authorities was conveyed by several people familiar with the matter but asked not to be identified because the plans are not public.
The pending green light is the second part of Harvest Global Investments Ltd’s two-step process to list an ETF in the Bitcoin-friendly city.
Tuesday, the Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) authorized Harvest Global Investments to provide fund management services related to virtual assets.
The SFC website shows that China Asset Management’s Hong Kong unit also received the approval on the same day.
Harvest Global Investments and China Asset Management declined to comment on whether the authorization was a first step toward starting a spot-Bitcoin ETF. The SFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hong Kong is vying with countries such as Singapore and Dubai to create a digital assets hub, as part of efforts to restore its reputation as a modern financial center after a crackdown on dissent that limited its appeal to foreign workers.
Meanwhile, spot ETFs for crypto coins came into the spotlight after the same instruments were traded in the US in January.
The ETF has raised about US$58 billion in funds, one of the most successful launches ever for a new mutual fund category.
The demand helped lift Bitcoin as the largest digital asset to a record US$73,798 in mid-March.
The launch of a spot-Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong “may be imminent,” said Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Rebecca Sin.
Bitcoin’s rise—the token has quadrupled since the start of 2023—is a net tailwind, and global Bitcoin ETF assets could soon reach US$100 billion, Sin explained.
Hong Kong allows futures-based crypto ETFs and so far there are three registered: CSOP Bitcoin Futures, CSOP Ether Futures, and Samsung Bitcoin Futures. They have combined assets of about US$170 million.
Samsung Asset Management previously said that it would not “rule out the possibility of exploring the launch of a spot ETF.”
CSOP Asset Management said they are exploring this.
Reuters previously reported that Hong Kong would likely approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund next week, with it launching this month.