Hong Kong Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Garner Over $200 Million in Debut

Hong Kong Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Gain More than $200 Million in Debut

On April 30, Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) made a successful exit, drawing more than $200 million in total assets. Bosera HashKey spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs accumulated 964 Bitcoin (BTC) and 4,290 Ether (ETH), totaling $71.94 million in assets under management. In addition, ChinaAMC’s spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs raised $123.61 million in total assets, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

But the value of assets held by Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs pales in comparison to their U.S. counterparts. In their first week, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted nearly $4 billion in assets under management, with $4.5 billion in trading volume on the first trading day alone. Eric Balchunas warned against setting high expectations for the Hong Kong market, but pointed out the importance of local figures. ChinaAMC’s Bitcoin ETF, for example, raised $123 million on its first day, ranking 6th out of 82 ETFs launched in Hong Kong in the past three years and in the top 20% overall.

A notable feature of Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs is that non-Hong Kong residents can also subscribe to or purchase units in the ETFs if they meet local regulatory requirements. Moreover, these ETFs allow investors to subscribe to units directly using BTC and ETH and vice versa, which is not available in their US counterparts.

A survey conducted by Hong Kong-regulated crypto exchange OSL on April 28 found that 76.9% of crypto-savvy respondents in the city plan to invest in the newly introduced spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. It’s worth noting that Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs are currently only accessible to the city’s approximately 6.4 million adult residents. Mainland Chinese investors, who number more than 1 billion, are prohibited from accessing these ETFs unless they have a Hong Kong residence permit.