According to people familiar with the matter, regulators in Hong Kong are set to give the nod to a roster of applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) as early as next week. This means the ETFs investing directly in Bitcoin could begin trading in April. 

The expected approval of Hong Kong-based spot Bitcoin ETFs would take place approximately three months after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first cluster in the US. 

As traditional institutional and retail investors in Hong Kong gain access to Bitcoin, the investment landscape stands on the cusp of a substantial shift.

Hong Kong Expedites Bitcoin ETF Approvals

Hong Kong is all set to become Asia’s first city to offer Bitcoin ETFs.

Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) could greenlight its first set of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund applications by April 15.

Harvest Hong Kong, Hong Kong units of China Asset Management, Harvest Fund Management, and Bosera Asset Management have already submitted applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs with the SFC. 

As reported earlier by ZyCrypto, as many as 10 financial institutions have planned to apply to list BTC ETFs in Hong Kong. Reuters revealed that Hong Kong regulators have fast-tracked the approval process, making it likely for the funds to start trading this month. 

Notably, Hong Kong regulators have been attempting to loosen their approach to crypto in recent months in an attempt to become a global hub for the sector.

A Game-Changer

Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs from Wall Street titans like BlackRock and Fidelity began trading on US exchanges in mid-January. They have accumulated roughly $58 billion in assets since then, despite constant outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC. The demand for these products propelled the largest cryptocurrency by market cap to a historic $73,737 last month.

The Asian crypto market is arguably much larger than the U.S. crypto market in terms of volume. This means that launching ETFs in Hong Kong could attract a significant amount of money into the funds.

The greenlighting process in Hong Kong is expected to follow a trend similar to that of the U.S., where the SEC approved multiple BTC ETFs simultaneously.

That being said, spot Bitcoin ETF approvals in Hong Kong are likely to encourage more investors and financial institutions to consider the benchmark crypto as a viable investment option.