The Hong Kong subsidiary of Harvest Fund Management, a Chinese asset management firm, applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF on January 26, marking a significant move in the region. According to Tencent News, this is the first submission of its kind in Hong Kong.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is reportedly expediting the approval process for the ETF, with plans for it to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The anticipated launch is set just after the Chinese New Year, scheduled from Feb. 10 to Feb. 17 this year.
Harvest Fund Management, primarily serving pension and profit-sharing plans, insurance companies, and enterprises, manages assets worth $121 billion as of 2021.
The submission follows the U.S. SEC’s approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10, marking a significant milestone for the industry. Approved ETFs include BlackRock’s IBIT, VanEck’s HODL, and Grayscale’s GBTC.
Harvest Fund Management didn’t respond to Cryptonews’ request for comment, and the SFC declined to comment.
Hong Kong is aligning with the global trend towards spot Bitcoin ETFs. In December, the SFC and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced their readiness to accept applications for virtual asset spot ETFs, specifying the expected standard of conduct for intermediaries distributing these funds.
Cryptocurrency leaders in Hong Kong view the SFC’s approach favorably, with expectations that spot Bitcoin ETFs will soon be part of the landscape. Yat Siu, chairman of web3 investor Animoca Brands, sees the spot Bitcoin ETF as a relatively uncontroversial option for expanding digital asset access.
Julia Leung, CEO of Hong Kong’s SFC, has expressed the regulator’s intention to evaluate spot Bitcoin ETFs and a willingness to consider proposals.
HashKey Group’s COO Livia Wend revealed that about ten fund firms are preparing virtual asset spot ETFs for launch in Hong Kong. As of Jan. 10, seven or eight of them were in advanced stages of preparation.
Despite Hong Kong’s openness to digital assets, the region has strict regulations, particularly following tightened measures by the central bank and securities regulator in response to a major scandal involving crypto exchange JPEX, impacting over 2,000 victims last year. A new working group has been established to monitor local trading platforms, intensifying crypto oversight in Hong Kong.
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