Market regulators in Hong Kong have approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) less than three months after the investment vehicles were greenlit in the United States.
Bitcoin ETF applicants, including China Asset Management, Bosera Capital, and others, have issued statements online saying they have received approval from China’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) that regulates Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs for trading on the Hong Kong exchange was widely expected.
Singapore-based analytics company 10x Research said in a note to clients that there was a 100% probability that Hong Kong would see the listing of Bitcoin ETFs this spring.
The launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in Hong Kong is expected to provide another tailwind to the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Since launching in the U.S. this January, spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $56 billion U.S. in assets, pushing the price of Bitcoin to a record high of $73,798 U.S. in mid-March of this year.
Bitcoin now accounts for almost 55% of the $2.4 trillion U.S. cryptocurrency market, a level last seen in April 2021, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin’s price has risen 3% in the last 24 hours and has increased 50% on the year to currently trade at $66,000 U.S.
