Samsung Asset to list blockchain ETF on Hong Kong Exchange

Samsung Asset Management Co. is slated to list a blockchain exchange-traded fund on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX) in the first half of this year, the Samsung Group’s investment arm said on Thursday. It is the first ETF that tracks cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech companies to list in Asia. 

The listing follows the asset manager’s acquisition of a 20% stake in US ETF sponsor Amplify Holding Company LLC in late March. Samsung Asset Management has secured exclusivity to provide Amplify products in Asia through the $30 million deal. 

The Illinois-based ETF sponsor is renowned for its ETF products such as BLOK, or Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF, which invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of blockchain companies.

The list of the companies includes crypto payment platform Silvergate Capital, crypto mining graphics processing unit (GPU) producer Nvidia, digital asset manager Galaxy Digital Holdings, crypto exchange platform giant Coinbase Global and derivatives exchange Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group. The ETF set to list on the HKEX will have the identical structure as BLOK.

Samsung Asset Management is planning to brand the new ETF under its company name alongside its five existing ETFs on the HKEX, which track: global semiconductors; FANG+, or Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (Alphabet) and others; Asia-Pacific REITs; Chinese internet companies; and crude oil.

BLOK covers not only crypto tech companies and exchange platforms, but also crypto-tracking ETFs such as Purpose Bitcoin ETF and 3IQ Coinshares Bitcoin ETF. The new ETF to debut in the Hong Kong stock market will be Asia's first public blockchain ETF that includes cryptocurrencies. However, it won’t list on the Korean stock market in the near term due to the country’s regulations on cryptocurrency investment.

The Korean investment firm is considering listing Amplify’s some other flagship ETFs in the Korean and overseas markets. The asset manager is reviewing a plan to list DIVO, or Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF, in Korea or Hong Kong, a Samsung official said.

Write to Jae-Yeon Ko at yeon@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.