Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Have Soft Debut

• Hong Kong’s crypto ETFs had a soft debut, with trading volume much lower than expected.
• The total trading volume for bitcoin ETFs was $8.5 million, while ether ETFs saw $2.5 million.

Hong Kong’s bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) ETFs failed to lift off on their trading debut in Hong Kong, coming dramatically under initial expectations.

The six listed crypto ETFs pushed $11 million in volume, with bitcoin ETFs posting $8.5 million in volume and ether ETFs coming in at $2.5 million. Issuers expected the initial volume to be over $100 million, according to local media reports.

Ether ETFs are allowed in Hong Kong’s market, as regulators in the Chinese territory don’t have the same concerns about ether being a security as their counterparts in the U.S.

A U.S. ether ETF won’t be listed for quite some time as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) won’t clearly say if they consider ether to be a security.

Ether ETFs are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange via issuers such as Evolve and Purpose Investments.

On the first day in the U.S., total trading volume hit $655 million. Bitcoin was down over 1%, trading near $62,100, according to CoinDesk Indices data.