Key Points
- Harvest Global’s CEO, Tongli Han, is open to offering Bitcoin and Ether ETFs to mainland Chinese investors.
- The possibility of offering crypto ETFs depends on the next two years’ developments.
Tongli Han, CEO and CIO of Harvest Global, has expressed an openness to offering Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to investors in mainland China.
This would be possible through the Stock Connect program if all goes well in the coming two years.
Harvest Global and Asian Crypto ETFs
Harvest Global is among the three issuers of Asia’s inaugural spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
The other two issuers are China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) and Bosera/HashKey.
These ETFs made their debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month, aligning with the city’s ambition to become a global cryptocurrency hub.
Han voiced his thoughts at the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
ETF Connect, launched in May 2022, permits mainland Chinese investors to access a range of ETFs listed in Hong Kong.
This initiative is an expansion of the Stock Connect scheme, which was initially established in 2014 to link the stock exchanges of Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Uncertainty Surrounding China’s Crypto ETF Access
Despite suggestions that the Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs could attract significant investor interest from mainland China through the Stock Connect program, it currently does not allow mainland investors to invest in crypto futures ETFs in Hong Kong.
Given China’s generally unfriendly approach towards the cryptocurrency industry, the likelihood of any such approval, regardless of whether applications are made, is highly uncertain.
OSL’s Gary Tiu, Executive Director and Head of Regulatory Affairs, stated prior to the ETFs launch that the potential for their inclusion in the Stock Connect program was something the market certainly liked.
The Hong Kong spot crypto ETFs had a somewhat disappointing debut, with a trading volume of only $11.2 million on their first day.
This pales in comparison to the $4.5 billion first-day volume for the spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in the U.S. in January.
Despite the slow start, Han believes the Hong Kong ETFs have the potential to grow to double the size of the U.S. products.
However, last month, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas downplayed the Hong Kong ETFs’ potential, stating that they would be lucky to reach $500 million.
He added that the Hong Kong ETF market is small and Chinese locals cannot officially buy these.
