The Blockchain Technologies ETF (TSX:HBLK) was up 0.86% in mid-afternoon trading on July 24. The ETF has dropped 10% over the past three months.
Equities linked to blockchain technology have surged in recent weeks as have cryptocurrency asset prices. This has come as China and India have somewhat measured their response to cryptocurrency exchanges. More concrete regulations are on the way, but there is a possibility that central banks will opt to ease up pressure on the market going forward.
The price of bitcoin has climbed back above the $8,000 mark barely a month removed from its plunge below $6,000. This is good news for the industry at large, but the gains made for investors in blockchain technology are even more exciting.
Chinese President Xi Jingping praised the potential of blockchain technology in May. The government has also reportedly moved to develop their own national digital currency and filed for a digital wallet on June 26.
The original hostility to cryptocurrencies on the part of the Chinese government seems to be an issue of control. Investors have seen similar opposition in Europe, where regulators have attempted to sound the alarm over cryptocurrencies on the pretense that they are used for terrorist financing and money laundering. In reality cryptocurrencies are exchanged as a tiny fraction of these shadow markets.
This ETF sees nearly 90% of its weighting in North America, where blockkchain development has been met with relative warmth by policy makers. Canadian leadership has pledged to invest in blockchain research while the country is also becoming a hot spot for crypto miners due to its cheap energy availability.
