Two exchange traded funds that track U.S.-listed cryptocurrency futures have debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.
The ETFs, managed by CSOP Asset Management, invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures listed on the CME exchange in the United States, the only cryptocurrency assets currently permitted by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
“Coming after the recent liquidity problems affecting some of the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs demonstrate that Hong Kong remains open-minded on the development of virtual assets,” said Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP.
In October, the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission said it would start a consultation to allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies and ETFs. The regulator had initially proposed restricting participation to professional investors.
“As the ETFs do not invest in physical bitcoin, and are traded on regulated U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges, there are more regulatory safeguards for investors compared to tokens traded on unregulated platforms,” Wang said.