According to CoinDesk, Harvest Global Investments, a major asset-management company in China, has applied for a spot-bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The company is also in discussions with regulators regarding the city's stablecoin sandbox, as reported by Tencent News and Bloomberg. Harvest Global did not respond to a request for comment, and the SFC declined to comment.
In December 2023, Hong Kong regulators announced their readiness to consider applications for spot crypto ETFs, following the approval of nearly a dozen applicants for spot-bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. Venture Smart Financial Holdings, a Hong Kong firm, has also stated its intention to file a spot bitcoin ETF application and aims to begin trading during the first quarter. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Venture Smart Financial, Harvest, and RD Technologies are among the entities in discussions with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) about its planned stablecoin sandbox.
An HKMA spokesperson said in an email that the sandbox arrangement is intended for fiat-reference stablecoin (FRS) issuers with a genuine interest in and a reasonable plan for issuing FRS in Hong Kong. The HKMA is preparing for the launch of the sandbox and will announce relevant details in due course. Hong Kong's regulators have published proposals for supervising stablecoin issuers through a licensing regime, with feedback sought by the end of February.
