Spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) have officially gone live in Hong Kong as its stock market opens.Â
OFFICIAL: SPOT #BITCOIN ETFS COMMENCE TRADING IN HONG KONG 🇭🇰 pic.twitter.com/yI8HsqRECf
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 30, 2024
The approval, eagerly awaited for months, signals a new era for the Bitcoin industry in the region. Major asset managers have been gearing up for this event, after Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission approved three Spot Bitcoin ETF applications earlier this month. China Asset Management, Harvest Global Investments, Bosera International and HashKey, were all among the asset managers gaining regulatory approval to offer these ETFs.Â
Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, ETF analysts at Bloomberg, shared the fees for the ETFs in a X post, saying that they were lower than they initially predicted them to be, highlighting this as a “good sign.”
HK spot bitcoin/ether ETFs officially approved to begin trading on April 30th. Fees are 30bps, 60bps and 99bps which is on avg lower than we thought, good sign. We doing an Analyst Q&A in an hour on this w/ local HK team. Register here, bring your qs: https://t.co/GzzCZailx3 https://t.co/AvJ6dv2Xha
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) April 24, 2024
These ETFs are anticipated to attract substantial interest from both local and international investors, positioning Hong Kong as a premier destination for Bitcoin investment opportunities.
A Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF issuer reportedly told WuBlockchain “the issuance scale of Hong Kong’s Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, which will be launched tomorrow at UTC+8, is expected to reach US$200 million to US$300 million, exceeding the first-day issuance scale of US$125 million in the United States.”
“China AMC is pretty confident that HK can outdo the US in bitcoin ETF flows and volume on day one. Also says other regions like Singapore and Middle East could seek out the ETFs altho confirmed off limits for China mainland investors,” Balchunas echoed in a similar statement. “Anything close to $125m would be unreal on day one for HK, that’s equivalent of $21b in US!”
Singapore-based Matrixport and Markus Thielen of 10x Research forecast that Hong Kong’s Spot Bitcoin ETFs could potentially unleash up to $25 billion in new demand, underscoring the significant role these financial instruments could play in legitimizing Bitcoin as a mainstream asset class.
As the ETFs go live in Hong Kong, the country also welcomes the Bitcoin Asia Conference, which starts next week, as advertisements for both the conference and the ETFs are now being marketed to residents in the country.
Giant #Bitcoin Asia Conference ad spotted in Hong Kong days after spot Bitcoin ETF approval 🇭🇰
Asia is coming 🚀
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) April 17, 2024
