Huobi Technology plans to launch ETFs that track cryptocurrencies for retail investors in Hong Kong. The company has reportedly submitted its proposal to Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and waiting for a nod.
Huobi ETF Plans
It intends to structure its ETFs so that they are “accessible to retail investors with less than HK$8 million ($1 million) in assets”, according to a report from the South. China Morning Post. Existing law allows crypto exchanges and companies to provide digital asset services only to professional investors.
The media report quoted a top company official saying that the crypto ETF for retail investors will be regulated by Hong Kong law, and all the trading and redemption will be done in the city-state to provide “better protection to investors.”
The Hong Kong-listed fund manager will “maintain close and positive communications” with financial industry regulators, including the SFC, to obtain necessary licenses and approvals.
Huobi Tech is one of the four fund managers in Hong Kong that the SFC has authorized to offer crypto-related products to professionals investors. The company expects that the agency might relax the professionals-only provision and allow it to come out with its planned crypto-tracking ETFs for retail investors.
His optimism for the relaxation of the position reserved for professionals comes in the wake of the SFC relaxing its guidelines for the sale of certain virtual products. They were introduced by the Joint Circular on the activities related to virtual assets of intermediaries in January this year.
However, an amendment bill is under consideration that prohibits retailers from directly trading in BTC and other digital coins.
Crypto ETFs in other countries
Meanwhile, the largest Bitcoin ETF in the Canadian market, Purpose Bitcoin ETF, increased its bitcoin holding to 36,000, a 23% year-to-date increase and a new high. Launched in February 2021, Purpose Bitcoin ETF is the world’s first cash bitcoin ETF, and it has seen its assets under management (AUM) reach $1 billion within a month of its launch.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not allowed a spot crypto ETF yet. However, it permitted ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF in October last year, which went on to amass $1.1 billion in AUM within two days of trading. In a recent move, The SEC rejected bitcoin ETF proposals by Global X and NYDIG.
