‘East vs West:’ How Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF can cover U.S. losses, per execs

  • Hong Kong ETF debut led to a record $12.4M in daily trading volume. 
  • Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs’ $141M inflows will taper off US negative flows — Analyst.

As a researcher with experience in the financial industry and a particular interest in cryptocurrencies, I find the recent performance of Hong Kong’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs truly remarkable. The debut on April 30th resulted in record-breaking trading volumes, with Bitcoin grabbing the majority of both assets under management (AUM) and daily trading volume.


On the initial trading day, which was on the 30th of April, Hong Kong ETFs recorded a trading volume of approximately $12.4 million.

As a crypto investor following the market closely, I’m excited to note that the initial day’s performance showed promising results, particularly for ChinaAMC. They successfully managed to attract over $141 million in assets under their management.

In response to the reported figures, Eric Balchunas, an analyst at Bloomberg, pointed out that the $12.4 million represented a substantial amount when converted to US dollars. His comment on social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) stated,

In that market, the total trading volume amounted to an impressive $12.4 million, which is equivalent to a substantial $1.6 billion in US dollars. However, the assets under management at China AMC are significantly stronger. They reported a total of $141 million in assets, with a massive $121 million being held in Bitcoin and $20 million in Ethereum. Therefore, Ethereum makes up approximately 14% of their holdings.

How did Bitcoin perform against Ethereum?

Six Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had their initial launches in Hong Kong, marking a first for the Asian region.

Six investment products were selected from ChinaAMC, Bosera, Hashkey, and Harvest. Initial data indicates that Bitcoin had a larger trading volume and assets under management on the first day.

As a crypto investor, I’d describe the situation in the ChinaAMC case this way: The lion’s share of my Bitcoin investment in this portfolio amounted to approximately $121 million, which accounted for around 86% of the total assets under management. Conversely, Ethereum, represented by a comparatively smaller stake of $21 million, accounted for only about 14%.

In terms of trading volume on the first day, Bosera Hashkey Bitcoin ETF had HK$12.44 million, whereas its ETH ETF recorded HK$2.48 million. (Or) The Bitcoin ETF from Bosera Hashkey generated a trading volume of HK$12.44 million on the initial day, while its ETH ETF managed HK$2.48 million in trades during the same period.

The trading volume for Harvest’s Bitcoin ETF reached HK$17.89 million, while the net trading volume for its Ethereum ETF amounted to HK$4.95 million. This indicates that a larger trading activity was observed in the Bitcoin ETF compared to the Ethereum ETF among the three issuers.

On the initial trading day, ChinaAMC held a significant share of the Bitcoin market, handling approximately 55% of all transactions.

Following the fine-tuning of BTC ETFs aligned with the US market, Balchunas emphasized the impressive debut of the Hong Kong counterpart.

As a researcher examining the East vs. West comparison, I’ve discovered that the US recorded assets amounting to $740 million and trading volumes totaling $4.6 billion. Although these figures appear small in their raw form, taking market size into account presents a different perspective. Equivalent to over $25 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively.

Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF’s first-day performance is pale to US counterparts on the same metric.

Balchunas highlighted that the $141 million inflows into Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs serve as a counterbalance to the present outflows from US Bitcoin ETFs.

During that time, Bitcoin’s price dipped down close to the $60,000 support level once more. The upcoming week is predicted to bring increased market fluctuations due to numerous significant events.

As a crypto investor, I’m keeping a close eye on the upcoming events that are expected to significantly impact the market. Specifically, I’m referring to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and the US Treasury’s Quarterly Refunding, both of which are scheduled for later today. These events have historically caused market volatility in the past, and as such, they may overshadow crypto trends for the remainder of 2024.

As a researcher studying market trends, I believe that the central bank’s decision will carry greater significance. This is due to the fact that it will ultimately decide the quantity of funds infused into the financial system, thereby impacting market liquidity.

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2024-05-01 09:11