Hong Kong could soon welcome its first spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after a number of local firms announced that they had received conditional approval from the SAR’s securities regulator on Monday.
According to multiple media reports, the companies include the Hong Kong branches of Harvest Global Investments and Bosera Asset Management, which said in now-deleted social media posts that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had given them the greenlight to engage in the transaction of cryptocurrencies.
The WeChat post of China Asset Management’s Hong Kong offshoot, however, remains live, with the firm noting that the SFC had given it permission to provide virtual asset management services and that it was working to launch bitcoin and ether EFT-related products.
The SFC has yet to issue a formal statement to officially confirm the claims.
[See more: Explainer: A beginner’s guide to blockchain]
The department responded to a Reuters’ query, noting that it approves of ETF applications as long as they fulfil the stipulated terms and conditions. However, it did not make any specific mention of the trade of cryptocurrencies.
The status of cryptocurrency in Asia varies considerably, with some countries such as Japan open to its exchange and others like China outright banning it. Though Hong Kong is a Chinese owned territory, its semi-autonomous status means that it operates a separate financial market.
When the spot bitcoin and ether ETFs are established, Hong Kong will be the first Asian city to offer such products, following the approval of bitcoin ETFs in the US a few months earlier.
According to Forbes, the cryptocurrency market is currently valued at US$2.54 trillion.
