Hong Kong bitcoin, ether ETFs see tepid trading on debut as city looks to bolster virtual asset market
- Six bitcoin and ether ETFs saw US$12 million in trading on Tuesday, compared with US$4.6 billion for US bitcoin ETFs on their first day
- The three bitcoin ETFs climbed by less than 2 per cent each by the end of trading, while the ether ETFs were down by less than 1 per cent
Asia’s first exchange traded funds (ETFs) that invest directly in bitcoin and ether started trading in Hong Kong on Tuesday with early gains in morning trading, marking a significant move in the city’s effort to become a cryptocurrency hub.
Six spot crypto ETFs that invest in the world’s two largest cryptocurrency tokens debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange, launched by mainland Chinese fund managers ChinaAMC, Harvest International, and Bosera Asset Management, which is teaming with HashKey Capital, the investment arm of Hong Kong crypto firm HashKey Group.
ChinaAMC and Harvest’s bitcoin ETFs closed up about 1.5 per cent each, while Borsera’s closed up 1.8 per cent. All three ether ETFs closed down less than 1 per cent.
The bitcoin ETFs saw nearly HK$67 million (US$9.2 million) in trading volume by the end of the day, with ChinaAMC’s ETF seeing the most trading with about HK$37 million changing hands.
The six Hong Kong funds racked up nearly HK$87 million by the close of trading. In comparison, 11 bitcoin ETFs in the US, which debuted in January, saw more than US$4.6 billion traded on their first day.
Hong Kong could expect the trading volume of its spot crypto ETFs to reach 20 per cent of those in the US within about a year, HashKey Group chief operating officer Livio Weng said at a briefing on Tuesday.
