Animoca Founder Yat Siu Hong Kong Could Potentially Allow Etherbacked ETFs as Early as This Year

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

Siu, in an interview with The Block, stated 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 inevitability.” Siu also mentioned:

HashKey, which jointly manages two spot ETFs in Hong Kong with Boson Fund, is developing a proposal to introduce Ethereum staking. Livio Weng, CEO of HashKey Exchange, stated, “We have come up with a plan to earn rewards without increasing risks.” He added that more undisclosed details are still 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 competitive advantage.

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