Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs land in Hong Kong

Despite the severe “crypto winter,” Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs listed on the CME exchange in the US land in Hong Kong, becoming the first two ETFs listed in Asia. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs debut on the Hong Kong exchange today

According to reports, it appears that Hong Kong has decided to launch the first two Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs on its HKEX exchange, CSOP Bitcoin futures ETF (3066.HK) and CSOP Ether futures ETF (3068.HK), respectively. 

BREAKING‼️ Hong Kong to list its first #Bitcoin Futures ETF tomorrow.

— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive) December 15, 2022

The two ETFs are already listed on the CME exchange in the United States and have been approved by Hong Kong’s Securities and futures Commission (SFC). They are scheduled to launch today. 

Despite the severe crypto winter, it also appears that even before their debut on the Hong Kong exchange, the two Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs have already raised a total of $73.6 million. 

The larger of the two, the CSOP Bitcoin futures ETF (3066.HK), has raised $53.9 million. This would surpass ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, the first US Bitcoin futures ETF that debuted on the NYSE Arca exchange in October 2021 with $20 million in initial capital. 

Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs expand despite market turmoil

This move by Hong Kong, comes more than a month after the collapse of the FTX exchange that significantly marked the trend of the crypto market that has been in a bearish market state since early 2022. 

Crunching the numbers, Bitcoin alone has reportedly lost more than 70% of its value since it hit an all-time high in November 2021.

And yet, Hong Kong appears to be welcoming Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs with open arms. In this regard, Yi Wang, CSOP’s quantitative investment manager, said the following:

“Coming after the recent liquidity problems affecting some of the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs demonstrate that Hong Kong remains open-minded on the development of virtual assets. As the ETFs do not invest in physical bitcoin, and are traded on regulated U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges, there are more regulatory safeguards for investors compared to tokens traded on unregulated platforms.”

Today, each unit of the first exchange traded funds (ETFs) on Bitcoin and Ether, traded on the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) (0388.HK), will debut at HK$7.7 each (the equivalent of $0.99 per unit).

The first year of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF

October saw the release of the first-year performance of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, the first Bitcoin futures ETF. The result was a drop of about $1.2 billion. 

And yet, in just two days of listing, the same ETF managed to set another kind of record, surpassing 1 billion subscriptions. To be exact, the ProShare ETF would record $1.1 billion in assets under management in its first two days. 

This could mean that the trend of Bitcoin futures ETFs, which have more limited exposure than those trading Bitcoin, actually follows the same trend as the crypto queen. 

With this trend, analysts are deeming as risky both instruments such as futures ETFs as well as spot ETFs on Bitcoin.