Hong Kong's VSFG eyes Q1 2024 for spot Bitcoin ETF introduction

At least 10 asset managers have been working to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in Hong Kong amid Bitcoin ETF push in the United States.

Hong Kong is inching closer to a potential launch of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), with one local firm reportedly planning to launch such a fund in the coming months.

Venture Smart Financial Holdings (VSFG), a Hong Kong-based financial services firm, expects to launch an ETF investing directly in Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2024, according to a report by Bloomberg.

“It’s a market that has huge potential,” VSFG’s group head of investment and product, Brian Chan, said, adding that the firm aims to reach $500 million in assets under management by the end of this year. The firm is now reportedly working to apply with Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to start a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The news comes a few weeks after the SFC officially announced in December 2023 that the agency was ready to receive spot Bitcoin ETF applications from authorized and licensed institutions in Hong Kong.

According to local reports, at least 10 fund managers have been preparing to launch crypto-based ETFs in Hong Kong. RJ Ke, a researcher with Ethereum scaling startup Taiko, reportedly said that Hong Kong will likely accelerate Bitcoin ETF applications in the coming months following the successful launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States on Jan. 11.

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Some companies that have been already offering futures-based crypto ETFs in Hong Kong could be among spot Bitcoin ETF filers. ​​Samsung Asset Management — which launched the Samsung Bitcoin Futures ETF in 2023 — reportedly said it wouldn’t “eliminate the possibility of exploring to launch a spot ETF.”

Cointelegraph approached VSFG for a comment regarding its plans to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in Q4 2024 but at the time of publication, had yet to receive a response.