Chinese media Tencent Finance reported yesterday, citing sources, that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) plans to publicly announce the first batch of Bitcoin spot ETFs in Hong Kong on the 15th, and even the possibility of approving Ethereum spot ETFs is not ruled out.
(Foreword:
Chinese official media: Multiple leading funds in Mainland China are applying for Bitcoin spot ETFs in Hong Kong, expected to launch in Q2 at the earliest.
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(Background:
Hong Kong’s first Bitcoin spot ETF to be listed as early as May! Amber Group and VSFG: close discussions with the SFC.
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The four-day 2024 Hong Kong Web3 Carnival concluded on April 9. According to the South China Morning Post, industry leaders who attended the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival held a very optimistic view of the future of Bitcoin. Many participants stated that they expected the SFC to approve the application for Bitcoin spot ETFs this month.
Tencent Finance previously reported that the SFC updated the list of virtual asset management funds on its official website in the early morning of April 10. This was because it plans to publicly announce the first batch of Hong Kong Bitcoin spot ETFs on the 15th. The report mentioned that the SFC updated the list of virtual asset management funds, adding Amber Group and Huaxia Fund. These public funds have added virtual asset management businesses on top of their existing traditional asset management businesses, which means that these funds are qualified to issue cryptocurrency fund products.
Expected to be listed by the end of April at the latest
Tencent Finance quoted sources as saying that the first batch of approved ETFs is expected to consist of four funds, issued by Amber Group, Huaxia Fund, Bosera Fund, and Huili Financial. However, Bosera Fund and Huili Financial are currently not listed as operators approved to engage in virtual asset management businesses. The reason is that these two funds do not have independent Hong Kong Responsible Officers (RO) for virtual asset management, but instead cooperate with licensed local institutions HashKey Capital and VSFG.
According to the process in Hong Kong, after the SFC approves the first batch of Bitcoin spot ETFs on the 15th, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will need about two weeks to prepare for product listing. However, the entire Bitcoin spot ETF project has already had detailed communication with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in advance, and it is expected to be completed in about ten days.
The SFC originally planned to list the Bitcoin spot ETF in Hong Kong around the 25th of this month, at the latest the end of April.
The scheme for submitting Bitcoin spot ETFs in Hong Kong this time involves at least 20 cooperating institutions, including Bitcoin custodians and market makers, and institutions holding comprehensive accounts for virtual asset transactions. If they strictly comply with Hong Kong’s application process and regular communication channels, it is unlikely that any institution in Hong Kong can complete all the application materials in about half a month.
Reuters also reported today that Hong Kong may launch Bitcoin spot ETFs this month, and the first approved list may be announced next week.
Possibility of Ethereum spot ETF approval?
In addition, the South China Morning Post mentioned at the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival that there is also a possibility of approving Ethereum spot ETFs. However, there is currently no official confirmation indicating that the relevant ETFs will be approved soon.
But if they are indeed approved, it will make Hong Kong the first to approve Ethereum spot ETFs, ahead of the United States, because some Bitcoin ETF issuers in the United States are expected to have their Ethereum spot ETF applications rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week.
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