SFC is prepared to authorise VA funds for retail investors (including VA Spot ETFs)
December 2023
On 22 December 2023, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (‘SFC’) issued a circular on SFC authorised funds with exposure to virtual assets (‘VA’) (‘Circular’) to set out requirements on authorising investment funds with direct and indirect exposure to VA of more than 10% of their net asset value (‘NAV’) for public offerings in Hong Kong (‘SFC-authorised VA Funds’). The Circular represents a welcome and fundamental shift in the regulator’s attitude to the VA ecosystem by opening up access to the retail investor class.
Essentially, the SFC will now (i) accept applications for the authorisation of VA spot exchange-traded funds (‘VA Spot ETFs’) and (ii) permit SFC-authorised VA Funds to invest in, in addition to BTC futures and ETH futures, spot VA, other VA futures and VA exchange-traded products (‘VA Futures/ETP Funds’).
In this News Flash, we provide a summary of the new requirements on SFC-authorised VA Funds and share some insights into what it means for market participants.
This news alert was jointly published by PwC Hong Kong and Tiang & Partners.
Tiang & Partners is an independent Hong Kong law firm and a member of the PwC network.
