The CSOP Bitcoin Futures and CSOP Ether Futures ETFs, due to be listed later Friday, achieved $59 million and $20 million of initial investment respectively, according to a statement from issuer CSOP Asset Management Ltd.
Billed as Asia’s first listed Bitcoin and Ether futures ETFs, the products offer the region a regulated environment for access to contracts traded on the CME Group Inc. platform, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Hong Kong earlier this year laid out a plan to become a top Asian crypto hub offering legalized retail trading and digital-asset ETFs, seeking to restore the city’s credentials as a financial center. The territory seems to be staying the course after indicating that recent crises show why investors would embrace a rule book offering transparency, compliance and investor protection.
Crypto exchange-traded products rocketed in popularity during 2021’s boom in token prices. But demand withered as digital assets tumbled into a rout and crypto firms like Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX slid into bankruptcy.
A gauge of the top 100 tokens has tumbled more than 60% this year, compared with a less than 20% decline in global stocks over the same period.
