On May 3rd, the first batch of 6 Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETF funds launched in Hong Kong today with a total transaction amount of approximately HKD 47.1 million, including:Huaxia Bitcoin ETF (3042. HK) reached HKD 12.65 million;Huaxia Ethereum ETF (3046. HK) reached HKD 2.97 million;ChinaAMC Bitcoin Spot ETF (3439. HK) reached HKD 19.11 million;ChinaAMC Ethereum Spot ETF (3179. HK) reached HKD 1.11 million;Foresight HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008. HK) had a transaction amount of approximately HKD 10.08 million;Foresight HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009. HK) reached HKD 1.18 million.

The latest announcement from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange regarding the trading arrangements for virtual asset ETFs of CSOP, Huatai and Bosera HashKey has disclosed information about securities dealers. The following shows the securities dealers for the Bitcoin spot ETF and Ethereum spot ETF of CSOP: ABN AMRO Clearing Hong Kong Limited, Barclays Asia Limited, CMB Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, Citic Lyon Securities Limited, Eclipse Options (HK) Limited, and Optiver Trading Hong Kong Limited. The securities dealers for the Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF of Huatai include: ABN AMRO Clearing Hong Kong Limited, Barclays Asia Limited, Citic Lyon Securities Limited, Eclipse Options (HK) Limited, VivCourt Trading HK Limited, and Optiver Trading Hong Kong Limited. The securities dealers for the Bitcoin ETF and Ethereum ETF of Bosera HashKey include: Barclays Asia Limited (authorized securities dealer: Jane Street Asia Trading Limited), Eclipse Options (HK) Limited, VivCourt Trading HK Limited (authorized securities dealer: Vivienne Court Trading Pty. Ltd.), and Optiver Trading Hong Kong Limited. According to the relevant announcement of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the relevant exchange participants have been granted securities dealer licenses, which will take effect on the same day, providing securities dealer activities for the exchange-traded funds. The securities dealers must comply with the responsibilities of securities dealers and the rules of the exchange.

HODL15Capital data shows that after two days of launch, the Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF has already held 4,088 BTC.

According to data from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the total trading volume of the 6 virtual asset spot ETFs issued in Hong Kong's first batch is approximately HKD 83.36 million, including: Huaxia Bitcoin ETF (3042.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 35.48 million, Huaxia Ethereum ETF (3046.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 12.63 million; Boshi HashKey Bitcoin ETF (3008.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 10.16 million, Boshi HashKey Ethereum ETF (3009.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 2.48 million; Jiashi Bitcoin Spot ETF (3439.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 17.66 million, Jiashi Ethereum Spot ETF (3179.HK) with a trading volume of HKD 4.95 million.

On April 27th, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange issued three notices, announcing the inclusion of Bo Shi HashKey Bitcoin ETF shares and Bo Shi HashKey Ethereum ETF shares, Huaxia Bitcoin ETF shares and Huaxia Ethereum ETF shares, and Jia Shi Bitcoin Spot ETF shares and Jia Shi Ethereum Spot ETF shares as Central Clearing System multi-counterparty eligible securities. It is reported that:

Hong Kong investors and the Financial Education Committee have stated that the investment scope of spot virtual asset ETFs is limited to virtual assets (currently limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum) provided to the Hong Kong public for buying and selling on virtual asset trading platforms holding China Securities Regulatory Commission licenses. Trading counterparties must buy and sell virtual assets through licensed virtual asset trading platforms to reduce counterparty risks. Asset custody must be entrusted to designated institutions regulated in Hong Kong, such as licensed virtual asset trading platforms, banks, or their subsidiaries registered in Hong Kong, to reduce custody risks. Investors can buy and sell virtual asset spot ETFs through securities firms or banks. Some virtual asset spot ETFs also provide non-listed fund unit categories, which operate similarly to non-listed funds. Investors can apply for and redeem units through securities firms or banks.

Hong Kong Customs has reported a successful crackdown on a major money laundering case, involving a staggering HKD 1.8 billion. According to preliminary investigations, a criminal group consisting of three individuals processed over 1,000 suspicious transactions between June 2021 and July 2022 through the establishment of multiple shell companies and bank accounts, including a significant amount of suspicious fund transfers from virtual currency trading platforms. This indicates that the criminals tried to launder their illegal proceeds by taking advantage of the anonymity of virtual currencies. Currently, Customs has arrested three key members of the criminal group, seized the assets of the involved companies, and confiscated a large number of criminal tools, including mobile phones, company seals, and bank cards. The case is still under further investigation, and more suspects may be arrested. This case once again sounds the alarm, reminding the virtual currency industry to increase vigilance and strictly comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued guidelines to local banks on the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and support for the development of Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem, in order to support banks in using DLT in a risk-controlled manner. Through clarifying the main regulatory considerations of the Authority, it aims to further promote the wider application of DLT in the industry, including establishing appropriate governance, ensuring the design suitability of DLT application projects, and continuous maintenance and supervision of DLT projects. In order to accommodate the diverse development of technology and the market, the Authority will continue to maintain close communication with the industry and support the orderly development of Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem in a risk-controlled manner.

Wu Jiezhuang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, wrote an article in Takungpao titled "Inside and Outside the Parliament/Three-party Cooperation to Develop 'Virtual Asset Banks'". The article pointed out that in order to address industry pain points, a "virtual asset bank" should be established to further provide comprehensive virtual financial services and facilities, including buying and selling and exchange services of virtual currencies for individual customers, providing unified virtual asset clearing, settlement, and custody services for qualified virtual asset service providers, reducing the market entry threshold for small and medium-sized investors; and assisting and encouraging the industry to provide related "intermediate income businesses" such as insurance, funds, asset management, etc., to provide more innovative virtual financial products and services, and to comprehensively develop the ecosystem combining traditional and virtual finance.

Huang Weilun, the Deputy Secretary of Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Web3 Carnival in Hong Kong that "Web3 is revolutionary, and Hong Kong will develop in a stable, sustainable, and responsible manner. Hong Kong mainly focuses on two areas in the development of Web3: first, supporting Hong Kong's virtual asset trading platforms, and second, supporting Web3 developers. The Hong Kong government is amending a law to include OTC trading of virtual assets under legal supervision, and the proposed law is being formulated. In addition, Hong Kong will allow intermediaries to provide trading of virtual assets, futures, and ETFs that meet certain conditions. In the future, we will continue to cooperate with more industry participants, bring more possibilities to Hong Kong with more insights, and promote the development of the Hong Kong Web3 industry."