ChainCatcher reported that according to The Block, Gary Tiu, executive director and head of regulatory affairs of Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange OSL, said on Sunday that Hong Kong's cryptocurrency spot exchange-traded funds face systemic obstacles, namely the general lack of incentives for ETFs in the market.
In Hong Kong, especially for funds and structured products, there is usually a very rich layer of intermediaries between the issuer and the end investor - brokers, banks, private banks, retail banks, etc., and intermediaries make a lot of money by distributing financial products. This has led to the Hong Kong market favoring unlisted products, while ETFs allow anyone to trade in the market. Therefore, ETFs provide little incentive for stockbrokers, with commissions of about a few basis points, about 1% to 2% of the commission for selling structured products, so it believes that Hong Kong's incentive system is one of the reasons why ETFs are difficult to develop as a financial instrument.
Additionally, Tiu said: “Hong Kong still has a negative attitude towards Bitcoin, Ethereum and cryptocurrencies in general. I think there is still some bias in the eyes of regulators and financial institutions, who see Bitcoin ETFs as a unique risk category that requires extra caution.”