Hong Kong to approve first BTC spot ETF on April 15, crypto market hopes to gain liquidity

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) plans to approve its first BTC spot ETF on April 15, Chinese media outlet Tencent News reported. Earlier today, the SFC added Chinese asset managers Harvest Global Investments and China Asset Management to its list of new virtual asset management fund companies. "The SFC plans to approve four Bitcoin spot ETFs in the first phase. The first approval announcement is expected to be made on May 15, which is why we are updating the list today. The ETF applicants have already had listing discussions with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and it will take about 10 days from approval to listing." Earlier, Hong Kong Legislative Council member Duncan Chiu (邱达根) said that a BTC spot ETF would be approved in Hong Kong soon.

As crypto analyst Noelle Acheson told CoinDesk, "The approval of the first BTC spot ETF by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will be a big deal. "It's a big deal because it gives access to Chinese investors, not just Hong Kong-based hedge funds and family offices," Acheson said. "Chinese investors are reluctant to invest in domestic real estate and equities. This trend has consequently sparked interest in alternative assets such as gold, especially gold-linked ETFs in China, which recently hit a record high and were halted earlier this week after the price premium reached 30%." "There could be significant capital flows into BTC," he added.