Hong Kong is here! At the end of this year, which many hope will be bullish, spot Bitcoin ETFs are emerging as the trendy topic. Indeed, they could constitute the fuel that the market needs to finally gain significant momentum before the next halving. A scenario strongly supported by the false start launched almost two weeks ago following a sort of BlackRock effect. But clearly, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) emerges as the main spoilsport. So why not “try your luck” in Honk Kong ?
Hong Kong interested in spot crypto ETFs
The stateless nature of Bitcoin has the merit of allowing it to exist in any financial market. Finally, local regulatory bodies must be open to this expansion outside of any legal framework.
An exercise in which the head of the SEC of the United States, Gary Gensler, shines with his “ inconsistency » chronic. But, faced with actors like the giant BlackRock this little game of systematic refutation begins to smell like a bad joke repeated for too long.
A regulatory loophole in which Julia Leung, director general of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong, seems to want to interfere. In fact, she has just given a full interview to Bloomberg media in an article published today. And it would obviously be a question to authorize spot crypto ETFs within its Asian hub in full deployment.
“We welcome proposals using innovative technology that improves efficiency and customer experience. (…) We are happy to try our luck provided that the new risks are taken into account. Our approach is consistent regardless of the asset. »
>> Do you prefer to keep your bitcoins safe? Choose a Ledger wallet (sponsored link) <<
Development of an Asian crypto hub
I have to say that Hong Kong appears to have big crypto ambitions for some time. A dynamic identified by some analysts as being carried out covertly by China. The goal ? Prepare for adoption of this digital economy. With in particular the establishment of a open-air laboratory about which the Chainalysis structure carried out an investigation in early October. But that’s not all.
Indeed, the Hong Kong regulator recently updated its local guidelines related to activities involving virtual assets. A way to broaden the reach and access offered to spot crypto ETFs for retail investors. However, this implementation requires assessment of the latter through intermediate structures. This is to test their knowledge of this market before any possibility of carrying out an operation.
Currently, the territory of Hong Kong lists three crypto ETFs based on futures contracts. These are the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and the CSOP Ether Futures ETF associated with approximately $65 million. Suffice to say that this does not (yet) represent much at the international level.
But the director general of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong obviously has several digital strings to her bow. Indeed, she also seems to have perceived the growing interest aroused by the principle of tokenization associated with traditional finance. Moreover, Hong Kong already proposed last February its first digital green bonds. And the regulatory body wishes to offer a legal framework in capacity to bring this functionality to individual investors.
The desire displayed by Hong Kong to become the Asian hub of the cryptocurrency sector is therefore accompanied by notable positions taken. A strategy probably intended to make people forget the JPEX scandal, worthy of a bad version of FTX. With direct competitors mentioned by Bloomberg: Singapore, Dubai and the European Union… here then !
Need a secure wallet to explore the multiple applications of DeFi? the best solution is still a personal hardware wallet. At Ledger, there is something for all profiles and all cryptos. Don’t wait to put your capital in safety (commercial link)!