Hong Kong's Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Struggle in Debut Week, Attracting Only $22.5M in Inflows

During their first week of launch, Hong Kong's spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have struggled to gain traction, attracting only around $22.5 million in inflows. Compared to their United States counterparts, which saw billions of dollars flowing into spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, the performance of the Hong Kong ETFs has been notably lower. The three spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in Hong Kong on April 30 have accumulated a total of $262 million in assets under management (AUM), with most subscriptions occurring before the listing. Similarly, the spot Ether ETFs in Hong Kong have garnered a cumulative $54.2 million in AUM and $9.3 million in inflows by May 6. Despite being seen as significant improvements over U.S. ETFs, with features like in-kind transfers and denominations in fiat currencies, the Hong Kong ETFs face challenges such as higher management fees compared to their U.S. counterparts, as well as restrictions on accessibility for mainland Chinese investors.