Shortly after launching his bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, Samsung Asset Management has indicated that it is considering launching a spot bitcoin ETF on the city exchange if policy allows..
In an interview with Bloomberg published on January 13, Chief executive of Samsung Asset Management in Hong Kong, Sam Park, said: “It really depends on how the policy is going to play out.”. He added that Hong Kong administrators are “clearly” interested in turning the city into a cryptocurrency hub.
A Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, Rebecca Sin, noted that “Hong Kong is well positioned to become Asia’s crypto gateway,” and expects bitcoin and Ether (ETH) spot products to be allowed there by the end of the year..
A spot market refers to a market in which the exchange of financial instruments is settled immediatelywhile a futures market refers to a market in which participants buy and sell contracts that will settle at a later date.
Samsung launched its bitcoin futures ETF on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Market on January 13.and is currently the only exchange in Asia that supports bitcoin futures ETF trading.
At press time, the ETF has already registered a 4.2% rise in its price.
Other Hong Kong futures ETFs have also raised interest: two ETFs managed by CSOP Asset Management have raised $73.6 million in investments ahead of their December 16 listing.
As CSOP executive Yi Wang noted at the time: “ETFs do not invest in physical bitcoin and […] there are more regulatory safeguards for investors compared to tokens traded on unregulated platforms”.
In a Twitter Spaces interview with Bloomberg Asia on January 5, Animoca Brands Chairman Yat Siu noted that Hong Kong seemed more attractive as a place of listing compared to the United Statespointing out:
“The United States seemed to be obviously the market that was maybe good at the time. But I would say that places like Asia, Hong Kong in particular, are starting to look quite attractive with their virtual asset policies, […] due to his desire to basically be a leader in space.”
A lack of regulatory clarity has often been cited as the reason so much cryptocurrency activity is leaving the United States.and has prompted lawmakers to push through cryptocurrency regulations as soon as possible.
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