Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have secured $230 million in assets under management (AUM) in their inaugural week.
According to data released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the $273 million AUM of virtual asset spot ETFs, including both Bitcoin and Ethereum, exceeded the $152 million AUM of virtual asset futures ETFs by nearly 80%.
Bitcoin ETF AUM by Issuers
China Asset Management Co. (China AMC)’s ETFs were the best performers post launch, with $116 million secured for Bitcoin and $19 million for Ethereum.
Bosera International and HashKey Capital’s Bitcoin ETF accumulated $57 million AUM, and $11.6 million for Ethereum ETF.
Harvest Global Investment’s Bitcoin ETF also got roughly $57 million under management and its Ethereum ETF secured $11.5 million.
The three spot Bitcoin ETFs together reached $230 million for AUM, while the three Ehereum ETFs got about $43 million.
Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, a Kraken subsidiary, forecasted that despite a relatively slow start, crypto ETFs in Hong Kong will rally to surpass $1 billion in assets under management by the end of 2024.
Preferred Taxes and Regulation for Hong Kong ETFs: BitGo
BitGo’s Managing Director of the Asia-Pacific region Hobeng “HB” Lim shared his insights on the Hong Kong ETFs in a statement, stating that some investors would prefer HK’s offerings to similar products in the US or Europe.
“Some investors may prefer not to trade spot crypto ETFs listed in North America or Europe for reasons such as less favourable taxes or restrictions by their home country regulator,” said Lim.
“The Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs provide another option for such investors who may find Hong Kong provides more advantages with regard to taxes and regulatory access,” said Lim.
Lim indicated that while Hong Kong has established a highly comprehensive and robust regulatory framework for virtual assets, there are still areas for improvement.
He suggested the need for a regulatory framework for independent virtual asset custodians to offer additional custody options, and adjustments to Hong Kong’s proposed regulations for over-the-counter (OTC) trading of virtual assets.