Animoca Founder Yat Siu Hong Kong may allow Etherbased ETFs to include pledge services as early as this year

According to a report by “The Block”, Yat Siu, the founder and chairman of blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, stated that asset management institutions 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 mentioned in an interview with The Block 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 an expected outcome.” Siu also mentioned that HashKey, which jointly manages two spot ETFs in Hong Kong with Bosera Funds, is working on a proposal to introduce Ethereum staking. Livio Weng, CEO of HashKey Exchange, stated, “We have devised a plan to earn rewards without increasing risks.” He added that more undisclosed details are currently under discussion.

Since 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 competitive advantage.

Related report: “Market Experts: Cancellation of Staking Plans by Ethereum Spot ETF Issuers May Reduce Attractiveness of Such Funds”