Hong Kong issuers of exchange-traded funds are unconcerned about the US crackdown on cryptocurrencies leading regulators to label Ether ETH as a security.
Zhu Haokang, the head of digital asset management firm China Asset Management, and Wayne Huang, the head of custody firm OSL Digital Securities, addressed questions about the new institutional investment products at a press conference on April 29, the eve of the launch of spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong.
One of the most noteworthy answers concerned the world’s first Ether ETF and if Hong Kong will be affected by the US labeling it a securities. Huang answered:
“Most likely not, given the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission’s autonomous decision-making is unaffected by whether Ethereum is classified as a security in the US.”
He also said that the process for deciding which crypto assets are securities and whether regular investors can trade them is done by the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission.
“It won’t be impacted by varying viewpoints among different US departments, or in the end, their own unilateral definition,” he said.
Additionally, he highlighted the reason why Hong Kong, not the US, will be the first global hub to introduce an Ethereum spot ETF.
“Several departments in the US are trying to regulate or are speaking out about cryptocurrency regulation at the same time.”
He stated that “Hong Kong has already had a clear definition of Ethereum” and went on to say that “Ethereum is not a security,” adding that it is one of the two assets—along with Bitcoin—that can be made available to regular investors.
To ascertain if it thinks the asset is a security, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is presently looking into the Ethereum Foundation.
Together with China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management and Harvest Global Investments also introduced cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on April 30 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. These funds were denoted by the tickers CAM, BOS, and HGI, respectively.
On April 15, China Asset Management (Hong Kong) selected OSL Digital Securities as their first partner for virtual asset trading and sub-custodian services.
Beijing is home to China Asset Management, a Beijing-based state-owned bank that was founded in 1998. It is among the largest fund families in China as well.
April 2024, Cryptoniteuae
