HSBC, the largest bank in Hong Kong, is now offering cryptocurrency Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) to its clients, according to reports. Customers of the banking behemoth will have access to three ETFs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, including CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and CSOP Ethereum Futures ETF.
In order to facilitate access to the ETFs, HSBC has launched a new service called the Virtual Asset Investor Education Center, which offers educational and risk disclosure materials for customers. Before they are allowed to trade the listed ETFs, customers must confirm they have read and understood the guidelines.
The ETFs will be available to millions of people using HSBC’s mobile app, Easy Invest, as well as its Mobile Banking app and online. The news follows recent reports that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has asked major banks to offer financial services to crypto exchanges, and that the Hong Kong securities watchdog has allowed exchanges to begin offering crypto trading services to retail investors.
The crypto ETFs space has received a major boost recently with $9 trillion asset manager BlackRock filing for its first spot Bitcoin ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Many other companies, including WisdomTree and Invesco, have since followed suit, resulting in Bitcoin price rallying to a new year-to-date high above $31k and Ethereum coming close to $1,930 last week.
