The SFC is Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and is in charge of placing new investment assets on the Asian country's stock exchange. These days it has many eyes on it, because 15 April could make history. From that date onwards, in fact, it could authorise the trading of Bitcoin-based Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on the stock exchange.
The rumours have been chasing each other for a while now, and the time finally seems ripe for the launch of the first batch of BTC ETFs within the month. This would be an unprecedented operation in the area. On SpazioCrypto, we reveal what the chances are that we will soon be able to see the acronym BTC on the indices of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and why this would be a historic initiative in this region of the world.
The Crucial Importance of Bitcoin-Based ETFs
We already covered Bitcoin ETFs last January, when the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the trading of Bitcoin ETFs on Wall Street. That date marked the beginning of a new era, one that is destined to continue, it would seem, on the other side of the Pacific.
The ETF is a traditional financial instrument and breaks down the barrier dividing decentralised and traditional finance. This is why the SEC's approval was so important: it has finally accepted crypto within the financial markets, recognising it for all intents and purposes as a mature, regulated asset that does not pose such different risks to other transactions.
Introducing Bitcoin ETFs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange would provide a new, yet familiar, investment vehicle for traditional investors, including those with greater scepticism towards the cryptocurrency world. This means that the floodgates will be opened to a new flow of capital, which could transform the financial landscape, modernising it and legitimising Bitcoin among tradable traded funds on the exchange.
At What Point is Approval on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
At the time of writing this news, we do not have comprehensive information on the actual status of the approval by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Commission. What we do know is that the Bitcoin-based ETFs being considered by the SFC will be four: funds from China Asset Management, Value Partners Financial, Harvest International and Bosera.
Visiting the commission's website, however, one notices that in reality its evaluation lists only provide, at least for April, for the evaluation of ETFs distributed by China Asset or Harvest International. As for the Bosera and Value Partners process, we really don't know anything, but at this point it is legitimate to expect that it will be discussed again in May.
If approved on 15 April, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's market listings should take a couple of weeks to update. This means that the first trades on Bitcoin ETFs will open in early May. Most likely, however, the window could be shorter and open as early as the last week of this month. In fact, when approval is a formality (i.e. in the vast majority of cases), it often happens that new products are added a few days in advance of the updating of the list of available assets.
A 3 Month long process
It has been three months since the possible listing of these ETFs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. More or less, ever since Wall Street gave the green light for investments in its indices. Asian players expect a increase in investment in their region, following the introduction of these new assets.
In the United States, Bitcoin-based ETFs have set in motion a substantial investment spree from 11 January, the date of their launch on the stock exchange, until today. The BitMEX research indicates that traded funds linked to the queen of crypto have generated $12 billion in net revenue out of an estimated availability of assets of around $58 billion. It is also thanks to these new investment opportunities that the value of BTC touched $73,000 in recent weeks, before returning to around $68,000.
