HSBC to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong

• HSBC will offer access to three ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and CSOP Ethereum Futures ETF.
• The banking behemoth also launched a new service dubbed Virtual Asset Investor Education Center that offers educational and risk disclosure materials for customers.
• Customers will have to confirm the guidelines before they are allowed to trade the listed ETFs.

HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong, is offering cryptocurrency exchange traded funds (ETFs) to its clients, reports say.

Specifically, HSBC is allowing its customers to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The banking behemoth is now the first bank to offer clients access to crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, crypto journalist Colin Wu tweeted early Monday.

HSBC will use the new offering to extend its users’ exposure to the crypto sector, a move that could see Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs be available to over millions of people using the bank’s mobile app.

Currently, Hong Kong lists three cryptocurrency ETFs: the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF, the CSOP Ethereum Futures ETF, and the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF.

SCOOP: HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong, today allows its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed on the Hong Kong exchange, and is also the first bank in Hong Kong to allow it. The move will expand local users’ exposure to cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/vH0LieSVGw

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 26, 2023

HSBC also reportedly launched a Virtual Asset Investor Education Centre, which provides access to educational materials and risk disclosures. Investors looking to buy and sell the listed ETFs will need to confirm they have read and understood the details before HSBC allows them to invest in any crypto-related products.

These products will be available via HSBC Hong Kong’s Easy Invest app, Mobile banking app and online.

Crypto ETFs news buoy BTC, altcoins

Today’s HSBC news follows recent reports that noted the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked major banks to offer financial services to crypto exchanges. This came after the Hong Kong securities watchdog allowed exchanges to begin offering crypto trading services to retail investors.

At the same time, the crypto ETFs space received a major boost when $9 trillion asset manager BlackRock filed for its first spot Bitcoin ETF from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Many other companies, including WisdomTree and Invesco have since followed suit. In the process, Bitcoin price rallied to a new year-to-date high above $31k as sentiment flipped bullish. Ethereum also traded higher, coming close to $1,930 last week.