Animoca Founder Yat Siu Hong Kong Likely to Allow Pledge Services to Include Ether Spot ETFs as Early as This Year

According to a report by “The Block”, Yat Siu, founder and chairman of blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, stated that asset management firms in Hong Kong are working on introducing staking into their Ethereum spot ETF, hoping that the staking reward feature will be approved this year.

Siu, in an interview with The Block, mentioned that Hong Kong is currently discussing the issue of Ethereum (ETH) staking, and the possibility of staking being approved in Asia before the United States is “almost a foreseeable outcome”. Siu also mentioned that HashKey, which co-manages two spot ETFs in Hong Kong with Boson Fund, is developing a proposal to introduce Ethereum staking. HashKey Exchange CEO Livio Weng stated, “We have devised a plan to earn rewards without increasing risk.” He added that more undisclosed details are currently under discussion.

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has clearly stated that Ethereum spot ETFs are not allowed to have staking functionality (at least for now), the possibility of staking rewards could give similar fund products in Hong Kong a relative competitive advantage.

Related report: “Market experts: Cancelling staking plans for Ethereum spot ETF issuers may reduce attractiveness of such funds.”