Hong Kong Approves Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETFs... Asia's First

Establishing a Position as Asia's Virtual Currency Hub

Hong Kong's securities regulatory authority approved the first spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the 15th, Bloomberg reported on the same day.

Hong Kong is the first in Asia to approve spot cryptocurrency ETFs. Additionally, the launch of the Ethereum ETF is the world's first.

China Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments, HashKey Capital, and Bosera Asset Management each issued statements announcing that they received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to launch spot cryptocurrency ETFs.

Earlier, the United States became the first in the world to approve the listing and trading of Bitcoin ETFs on exchanges in January. As a result, approximately $59 billion (about 81.6855 trillion KRW) has been attracted to 11 ETFs in the U.S. to date.

Hong Kong is competing with Singapore, Dubai, and others for the position of cryptocurrency hub. Having announced a regulatory system for cryptocurrency service providers in June last year and now launching a spot Ethereum ETF, Hong Kong is expected to solidify its position as Asia's cryptocurrency hub.

The cryptocurrency market rose alongside the decision by Hong Kong authorities. Bitcoin surpassed $66,000, and Ethereum is trading around $3,230.