Wealthy clients of Swiss bank UBS now have the ability to trade certain ETFs on crypto in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reports.
This information comes a day after HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, announced its plans to launch a custody service for digital assets aimed at institutional clients.
See below for all the details.
Summary
Swiss bank UBS responds to client needs: new trading opportunities with crypto ETFs
As anticipated, according to a report by Bloomberg, which cites a well-informed source, wealthy clients of Swiss bank UBS now have the opportunity to access three crypto-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs) via the bank’s Hong Kong-based platform.Â
The said ETFs, named Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active, CSOP Bitcoin Futures and CSOP Ether Futures, are all licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong’s securities regulator.
Collectively, the three products boast assets of about $72 million.
This news is particularly significant as it comes on the heels of the announcement by HSBC, one of the largest global banks, of its intention to launch a custody service for digital assets aimed at institutional clients.
Recently, Hong Kong has taken steps to allow retail investors to purchase Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) linked to spot cryptocurrencies and participate primarily in tokenization.Â
Hence, this development seems to represent another step in Hong Kong’s ambitions to emerge as a hub for virtual assets.
Indeed, last June, the city implemented new regulations, accepting applications for licenses for cryptocurrency trading platforms and issuing the first permits in August, allowing exchanges to serve retail clients as well.
In addition, it should be noted that UBS was recently selected among the six commercial banks involved in a central bank digital currency pilot project (CBDC) in collaboration with the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
Finally, recall that in March this year, UBS stepped in to support Credit Suisse after its financial crisis. Soon after, the price of Bitcoin rose above $28,000.
News also from SNB: New pilot project for central bank digital currency (CBDC)
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) recently launched an innovative pilot project for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), focused on regulating interbank transactions in both primary and secondary markets.
Involving several commercial banks, including UBS, Zurcher Kantonalbankk, Commerz Bank, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg, and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, the pilot project called Helvetia Phase III builds on two previous studies with the cooperation of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).
In the new project, the SNB will rely on the SDX for technical direction, hosting the studies on its distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based platform and acting as a “trusted gateway” for participants.
The SDX in this regard stated the following:
“The objective of the pilot project is to test, in a live production environment, the settlement of primary and secondary market transactions in wCBDC. Participating banks will be able to issue digital bonds in Swiss francs, which will be settled against the wCBDC on a delivery versus payment basis.”
This new phase of the wholesale CBDC pilot project will focus on digital bond transactions, following promising results obtained in previous studies. Going forward, Helvetia Phase III will explore the feasibility of CBDCs in repo transactions, using digital bonds to secure transactions.
SDX executive David Newns emphasized the leading role taken by Switzerland in this technological evolution, predicting that the initiative will usher in a new era of digital finance and shape the trajectory of the global financial sector.
In addition, the European nation has been progressively advancing financial tokenization, collaborating with entities such as Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
According to Reuters, the pilot project is expected to begin in December, extending until mid-2024.
