Image: Shutterstock
On April 15, the Securities and Future Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong officially sanctioned three spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from Harvest Global Investments, China Asset Management, and a collaboration between Hashkey and Bosera Asset Management. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong is currently in the process of finalizing the listing procedures and related arrangements, which is estimated to take around two weeks.
Following the developments on April 15, Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, expressed doubts regarding the potential influx of investments in these ETFs. He took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to convey his skepticism, suggesting that the actual investment might fall short of expectations.
Balchunas remarked, “Anticipate limited flows. (I came across one projection of \(25 billion, which seems unrealistic). We believe they will struggle to reach \)500 million.”
He supported his forecasts by highlighting the relatively modest size of the Hong Kong ETF market in comparison to more prominent markets like the United States. Balchunas also pointed out that the three prospective ETF issuers in Hong Kong are notably smaller in scale compared to major asset management firms such as BlackRock.
In a subsequent post on X, Balchunas tweeted, “U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs hold more assets than the entire HK ETF market.”
Conversely, Elja Boom, the co-founder of Okse, took a more optimistic stance in a tweet, stating, “This represents a significant advancement for the crypto economy, as it is poised to attract a substantial amount of Chinese capital into the crypto sphere. The approval of BTC and ETH ETFs in Hong Kong will also draw attention to Chinese narrative tokens.” However, the actual volume of inflows remains uncertain.
It is noteworthy that the approved spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs will be launched utilizing an in-kind model, allowing for the direct issuance of new ETF shares backed by BTC and ETH.
In the realm of U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, as of April 15, the top 10 entities holding Bitcoin ETFs collectively possessed 843,420 BTC, equivalent to 4.016% of the total 21 million Bitcoin supply.
Leading the pack is Grayscale’s GBTC with 314,145 BTC, constituting 1.496% of the total Bitcoin supply. The iShares Bitcoin Trust, managed by BlackRock, holds 270,976 BTC, representing 1.29% of the total supply. Additionally, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) possesses 151,853 BTC, which is 0.723% of the total supply.
In a recent development, Mudrex, a cryptocurrency investment platform, introduced US Bitcoin Spot ETFs tailored for both institutional and retail investors in India last month. Following the completion of KYC procedures, users have the opportunity to invest a minimum of \(5,000 and a maximum of \)250,000. They can opt for individual ETFs, curate customized baskets, or select from pre-listed options based on market capitalization.
Shown above, Shashank, the founder of yMedia, delved into the realm of crypto back in 2013 and holds a strong belief in ETH.
Follow on Twitter: @bhardwajshash
Subscribe Now