Published on mei 3, 2024, 12:31 am
Image source: Fox News
```json [ { "title": "Cryptocurrency Industry Developments in East Asia", "summary": "Six Hong Kong spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs accumulated over $200 million in assets under management, with positive investor sentiment despite challenges. Market saw a 10% drop in Bitcoin and Ether value. Limited accessibility due to capital restrictions affected ETF performance. Survey shows 77% of East Asian investors planning to invest in these new crypto ETFs. In China, an individual was arrested for impersonating a developer in a token scam worth $120,000. HKVAEX halted services, while Binance's co-founder faced legal issues but the exchange aims to improve compliance standards." } ] ```
Our latest news update from East Asia focuses on the cryptocurrency industry’s recent key developments. Following their launch on April 30, six Hong Kong spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have amassed a little over $200 million in assets under management (AUM). This figure falls short of the massive inflows seen by U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which raised billions within a week of their introduction in January.
Despite some industry watchers cautioning against high expectations for the Hong Kong ETFs, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas emphasized that when localized, the numbers were significant. Notably, ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF attracted $123 million on its first day, ranking it sixth out of 82 ETFs launched in the past three years in Hong Kong and placing it among the top 20% overall.
However, market participants appear less enthusiastic as both Bitcoin and Ether saw a 10% drop in value within the last month. Data indicates that AUM for two of these ETFs mainly comes from pre-listing subscriptions, with post-debut trading volumes remaining subdued.
The limited accessibility of these crypto ETFs to only Hong Kong residents and some overseas traders due to capital restrictions has also affected their performance. Mainland Chinese residents, numbering over 1.4 billion, are currently unable to access these products without prior Hong Kong residency.
Despite challenges and skepticism surrounding the local crypto ETFs, there is optimism among investors in East Asia. A survey conducted by Hong Kong-based crypto exchange OSL revealed that 77% of crypto investors in the region intend to invest in the new spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. According to OSL’s executive director Gary Tiu, this positive sentiment underscores the growing acceptance and significance of digital assets in East Asia.
Moreover, Eric Balchunas expressed surprise at the rapid progress of the Hong Kong crypto ETFs, highlighting an impressive AUM of $292 million on day one — surpassing his initial expectations. Although he set a target AUM of $1 billion within two years for these local ETFs, it remains modest compared to their U.S. counterparts managing tens of billions of dollars.
In a separate event related to cryptocurrencies in China, authorities have arrested an individual accused of impersonating a Starknet developer to fraudulently claim STRK tokens worth $120,000 from an official airdrop project run by the Ethereum layer-two solution.
Additionally, we’ve witnessed developments tied to cryptocurrency exchange operations as HKVAEX ceased its services recently and Binance’s co-founder Changpeng Zhao faced legal scrutiny resulting in a four-month prison sentence for money laundering charges. Despite his stepping down as CEO following compliance issues faced by Binance last year leading to substantial settlements with regulatory authorities like the U.S Department of Justice under Zhao’s leadership (now succeeded by Richard Teng), Binance is striving towards improved compliance standards moving forward.
Original article posted by Fox News
