Samsung to List Blockchain ETF on Hong Kong Exchange

Tech giant investment arm to launch Asia's first public blockchain and crypto ETF during the first half of this year.

Samsung Asset Management Co is slated to list a blockchain exchange-traded fund on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) in the first half of this year, the Samsung Group’s investment arm said on Thursday.

According to The Korea Economic Daily, the new ETF to debut in the Hong Kong stock market will be Asia's first ETF that tracks cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech companies. However, it won’t list on the Korean stock market in the near term due to the country’s regulations on cryptocurrency investment.

The company is planning to brand the new ETF under its company name alongside its five existing ETFs on the HKEX, which track: global semiconductors; FANG+, or Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (Alphabet) and others; Asia-Pacific REITs; Chinese internet companies; and crude oil.

The listing follows the asset manager’s acquisition of a 20% stake in US ETF sponsor Amplify Holding Company LLC in late March. The Illinois-based ETF sponsor is renowned for its ETF products such as BLOK, or Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF, which invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of blockchain companies such as crypto payment platform Silvergate Capital, crypto mining graphics processing unit (GPU) producer Nvidia, digital asset manager Galaxy Digital Holdings, crypto exchange platform giant Coinbase Global and derivatives exchange Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group. Samsung Asset Management has secured exclusivity to provide Amplify products in Asia through the $30 million deal.