CSOP Asset Management, one of China’s largest asset managers, is set to launch Asia’s first Bitcoin futures inverse product on July 23. The new exchange-traded fund (ETF), named the CSOP Bitcoin Future Daily (-1x) Inverse Product (7376.HK), aims to allow investors to profit from declines in the price of Bitcoin.

This development follows the successful launch of CSOP’s Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK) in December 2022, marking another step in the firm’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Product Details

The CSOP Bitcoin Futures Daily (-1x) Inverse Product is designed to offer investment results that closely mirror the inverse daily performance of the S&P Bitcoin Futures Index. It achieves this through a futures-based replication strategy, directly investing in spot-month Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin Futures.

According to a CSOP company post on July 22, the product will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) with an initial listing price of approximately 7.8 Hong Kong dollars per unit.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Tristan Frizza, Founder of Zeta Markets, highlighted that the launch of the inverse Bitcoin ETF signifies the “increasing sophistication of crypto financial products” globally. He noted that enabling bets against the market could help balance speculative activities and contribute to long-term market stability, which is crucial for the maturation of the crypto sector and its acceptance as an established investment asset.

Hong Kong Crypto ETFs

Since late 2022, HKEX has been trading spot crypto ETFs, beginning with CSOP’s Bitcoin Futures ETF and Ether Futures ETF. These products track BTC futures and Ether futures cash-settled contracts traded on the CME. In January 2023, Samsung Asset Management Hong Kong also introduced a Bitcoin futures ETF.

As of April 29, the combined assets under management for HKEX crypto ETFs from these three products reached 1.3 billion HKD, worth approximately 170 million USD.

HK SFC Flags Seven Unregulated Crypto Exchanges

On July 5, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued alerts regarding seven crypto exchanges operating illegally in the region. The SFC flagged these exchanges for providing services without operational licenses and added them to its “Suspicious virtual asset trading platforms” alert list. The SFC aims to reduce the risks of fraud and scams by maintaining public records of registered, unregistered, and illegal crypto trading entities.

Source: Cointelegraph