A string of cryptocurrency news outlets reported that HSBC Hong Kong is giving its customers access to bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds on Monday.

The news was first reported by crypto journalist Colin Wu and reproduced by a number of different sites, including The Block.

However, this appears to be something of an overreaction. HSBC's customers in Hong Kong have in fact been able to trade such crypto investment products since they were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in December, as the bank allows trading of all publicly-listed ETFs.

Crypto ETFs debuted on the HKEX with the listing of the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066) and CSOP Ether Futures ETF (3068). These were joined by the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF (3135) in January.

Today's development would appear to be that HSBC customers can now also access these ETFs from the bank's investment platform.

The overreaction to this modest development demonstrates the excitement in the crypto community for any and all adoption of cryptocurrency investments by mainstream institutions such as HSBC in major financial centers like Hong Kong.

Indeed, Hong Kong has been emerging as a potential global crypto hub in recent months with its Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) accepting applications for cryptocurrency trading platforms on June 1 and inviting Coinbase (COIN) to come and register in the region.

Hong Kong HSBC ETFs

Jamie Crawley

Jamie joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in February 2021 after writing widely about crypto and blockchain for two years in other roles. Away from crypto, Jamie runs a lot and loves all things sport. He holds small amounts of BTC, ETH, ADA and LTC.