VSFG said that if the spot Bitcoin ETF is successfully launched in the first quarter, it plans to submit an application for a spot Ethereum ETF in Hong Kong in the second quarter.
Hong Kong-based financial services company Venture Smart Financial Holdings Ltd. (VSFG) is preparing to apply for a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) and expects to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in the first quarter.
VSFG Chairman Lawrence Chu told The Block in an interview on Friday that the company is in the final stages of formally submitting an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
Chu said that in Hong Kong, filing an application is usually preceded by extensive regulatory discussions. “Submitting [the application] is almost like you are 95% done,” he added.
Chu noted that the company aims to file a spot Ethereum ETF in the second quarter, assuming its spot Bitcoin ETF is approved and listed in the first quarter. “But it really depends on our conversations with regulators,” he said. “We’ll be ready.”
Last month, Livio Weng, chief operating officer of Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange HashKey, said that about 10 fund companies have begun considering the potential launch of spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong.
As several Hong Kong fund companies prepare to apply for spot Bitcoin ETFs, a race to lower fees may begin among asset managers, similar to the situation in the United States
“There will be some [ETFs] coming out,” Chu said. “Our role is a little bit nuanced because I think we’re also trying to help ETF issuers get involved.”
Chu noted that U.S. ETF issuers tend to have their own digital asset teams. “In Hong Kong, there are some licensing requirements, but there is also a knowledge gap. Most ETF issuers do not have digital asset teams.”
“For us, it’s no longer a competition, it’s a competition between ETF issuers in terms of marketing,” Chu continued. “From that perspective, you can think of us more as a service provider to all ETF issuers.”