Bitcoin the main attraction at Hong Kong Web3 Festival ahead of ‘imminent’ ETF approval

Crypto industry executives were touting the benefits of bitcoin at the four-day Web3 Festival amid anticipation for the approval of spot ETFs this month

Companies from mainland China are also looking at offering bitcoin ETFs, with Harvest International and ChinaAMC reportedly set for approval, Chinese media say

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People pass by a display for the Hong Kong Web3 Festival at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on April 6, 2024. Photo: SCMP / Matt Haldane

Published: 9:30pm, 10 Apr 2024

Hong Kong’s biggest annual Web3 gathering concluded on Tuesday with industry executives looking to capitalise on the ballooning bitcoin price ahead of what is expected to be the city’s imminent approval of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the virtual asset this month.

Industry leaders attending the Hong Kong Web3 Festival shared extremely optimistic projections of the world’s largest cryptocurrency token, the price of which is up 58 per cent to about US$69,000 this year, as the crypto faithful hope to extend the winning streak.

On the opening day of the event on Saturday, US investor Cathie Wood made the bold prediction that the price of bitcoin was headed to US$1.5 million by 2030. Mao Shixing, co-founder and CEO of crypto custody and wallet provider Cobo, who uses the name Discus Fish in English, said on Tuesday that he thinks even the prediction of a 2,000 per cent increase in the next six years is “conservative”.

While the conference touched on a range of topics, including real-world asset tokenisation and artificial intelligence, “bitcoin and its ecosystem projects” clearly took “centre stage” at the event, said Lily Z. King, chief operating officer of Cobo.

The excitement also partially stems from active development of so-called layer-2 bitcoin projects, which are networks that run alongside the main blockchain to help it scale through faster transactions. Many crypto firms see this as an opportunity to boost demand for businesses built around bitcoin.

Spot ETFs are driving the most excitement, though, as it will give investors an easy way to expose themselves to bitcoin without needing to worry about managing cryptocurrency keys and storage.

Multiple people attending the event said they expect the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to approve spot bitcoin ETFs this month, following the approval of such funds in the US in January. Tencent News reported that the first batch could be announced as soon as April 15, with mainland Chinese fund managers Harvest International and China Asset Management Company (ChinaAMC) to be among the issuers.