Bitcoin, ether recover as Hong Kong greenlights spot crypto ETFs

Bitcoin and ether prices rose on Monday afternoon in Asia as Hong Kong gave preliminary approval to local spot crypto exchange-traded fund applications. The price of bitcoin rose 2.8% to $66,425, while ether gained 5.2% to $3,252 in the past 24 hours as of 4:15 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to The Block's price page.

The two largest cryptocurrencies and most other tokens recovered after Iran’s drone attack on Israel triggered a mass selling of crypto assets over the weekend. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000, while ether also dropped below $3,000 momentarily.

Meanwhile, the GMCI 30, which measures the performance of a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, gained 4.6% in the last 24 hours.

Hong Kong ETFs

The price recovery came as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) gave in-principle approval to a slew of spot crypto ETF applications from local financial institutions. The list includes China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management and HashKey Capital, and Harvest Global Investments. 

The Hong Kong institutions' new ETFs will open spot investment channels for not only bitcoin but also ether, which has not yet been approved in the U.S.

“HK ETF approval means BTC and ETH are becoming mainstream assets that even your mother could buy from a bank,” wrote Decentralised Gaming Ventures co-founder Joseph Young on X. “This is a game changer.”

The SFC did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.