Hong Kong Could Approve Spot Bitcoin, Ether ETFs as Early as Monday: Bloomberg

• Hong Kong may approve spot bitcoin and ether ETFs as soon as Friday, with possible trading by the end of the month, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
• The approval timeline isn’t fixed and could be changed at the last minute, the sources said.

Hong Kong could approve spot bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds as early as Monday, Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

If listing details are worked out in time with Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX), the products could be launched by the end of the month, the report said.

Harvest Global Investments, a major asset-management company in China, which was reportedly the first to apply for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), and a product by Bosera Asset Management (International) Co. and HashKey Capital, could be the first to get approvals.

The approval timeline isn’t fixed and remains subject to last-minute changes, the people said.

Hong Kong's approval of the ETF products is seen as one of the biggest market-moving events for cryptocurrencies and could establish Hong Kong as Asia's leading digital asset hub.

Read more: Hong Kong-Listed Bitcoin ETFs Could Unlock Up to $25B in Demand, Crypto Firm Says

While the U.S. approved spot-bitcoin ETFs in January, leading to a record price rally that has seen bitcoin hitting $73K, it hasn't yet approved ether ETFs.

In fact, expectations are muted for the U.S. to approve spot-ether ETF products.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the city's market regulator, declined to comment.

Harvest Global Investments, Bosera Asset Management, Hashkey and HKEX, didn't immediately respond to CoinDesk's requests for comment sent after business hours on Friday.

UPDATE (April 12, 2024, 12:35:00 UTC): Adds details throughout.