By Georgina Lee

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two alternate traded funds (ETF) that observe U.S.-listed cryptocurrency futures have raised a mixed $73.6 million forward of their debut on the Hong Kong inventory alternate on Friday in defiance of the sector’s meltdown.

Cryptocurrencies have endured months of turmoil, with the collapse of crypto alternate FTX the newest blow to the sector. , the largest cryptocurrency, has misplaced greater than 70% of its worth since hitting a file excessive in November 2021.

The ETFs, managed by CSOP Asset Administration, put money into bitcoin and ether futures listed on the CME alternate in america, the one cryptocurrency belongings presently permitted by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Fee (SFC).

The bigger of the 2, CSOP ETF, pulled in $53.9 million, in keeping with the supervisor. That topped ProShares Bitcoin Technique ETF, the primary U.S. bitcoin futures ETF that debuted on the NYSE Arca alternate in October 2021 with $20 million of seed capital, in keeping with media experiences.

“Coming after the latest liquidity issues affecting among the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs reveal that Hong Kong stays open-minded on the event of digital belongings,” mentioned Yi Wang, head of quantitative funding at CSOP.

Simply earlier than FTX’s collapse final month, the SFC mentioned in October it might begin a session to permit retail buyers to commerce cryptocurrencies and ETFs. The regulator had initially proposed proscribing participation to skilled buyers.

“Because the ETFs don’t put money into bodily bitcoin, and are traded on regulated U.S. and Hong Kong exchanges, there are extra regulatory safeguards for buyers in comparison with tokens traded on unregulated platforms,” Wang mentioned.

On Friday, every lot buying and selling on the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) will debut at HK$780 every.

“The value of bitcoin could also be topic to manipulation as a good portion is held by a small variety of holders” and the CME futures may drop to zero, the ETFs’ product doc filed to the HKEX mentioned.