Asia’s crypto craze spurs swath of fund launches
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The crypto craze among Asian investors is spurring asset managers in the region to seize opportunities to woo them over with their products despite tightening regulation, Cerulli Associates notes in a new report.
A number of cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused funds that invest in the broader universe without directly investing in cryptocurrency have been rolled out this past year in Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea, while Australia has seen the region’s first exchange traded funds with direct exposure to bitcoin and ether.
Regional regulators have been cracking down on the asset class, however, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore curtailing retail access to crypto in August and Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission overhauling advertising rules for digital asset companies.
South Korea also does not currently permit local players to tap services from cryptocurrency exchanges.
This environment of increasing regulatory scrutiny and market volatility, however, would be “key selling points” for asset managers in providing crypto-related funds, rather than products that have direct exposure to the asset class, said Yap.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Peter Ortiz
