According to data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, six new spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) generated over 87.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($11.2 million) in trading volume on their first day. While this is an impressive figure, it is significantly lower than the $4.6 billion first-day volume of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in the US in January.
China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) led the way in Hong Kong, accumulating $121.7 million in assets under management (AUM) on the first trading day of its spot Bitcoin ETF. The company’s spot Ethereum ETF also gathered $20.4 million in AUM. Other spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs managed by Harvest Global, Bosera, and HashKey also made their debut, contributing to the overall trading volume on the Hong Kong Exchange.
Despite not reaching the same levels as the US spot Bitcoin ETFs, the performance of Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs is still viewed positively within the industry. Justin d’Anethan, Head of APAC Business Development at Keyrock, commented that considering the market dynamics, the trading activity in Hong Kong is significant, even though the trading volume is modest compared to the US ETFs’ first day.
One notable aspect of Hong Kong’s spot Ethereum ETFs is that they currently do not offer staking rewards. Livio Weng, CEO of HashKey Exchange, mentioned that fund issuers are cautiously planning to offer staking rewards in collaboration with regulators due to perceived regulatory risks. However, this limitation may be resolved in the future. Despite this restriction, the trading volume achieved by spot Ethereum ETFs on their first trading day indicates a high level of interest in the region’s spot Ethereum ETFs and crypto ETFs in general.
As the cryptocurrency market in Hong Kong continues to develop, discussions between fund issuers and regulators are crucial in shaping the outlook of cryptocurrency ETFs. Although the trading volumes of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on their first day do not match those in the US, the successful launch of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong, with support from China, shows a promising direction for the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the region.
Disclaimer: The information in this article should not be considered investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and carry risks, and should conduct their own research.