Bitcoin Slips Under $62K as Hong Kong ETFs Disappoint

Bitcoin (BTC) faced selling pressure during European hours after data showed poor uptake for Hong Kong’s newly listed exchange-traded funds tied to bitcoin and ether.

The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell nearly 2% from $63,300 to under $61,000 in 60 minutes to 09:00 UTC, CoinDesk data show. Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, slipped 2.8% to $3,066.

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The six ETFs that commenced trading in Hong Kong on Tuesday fell far short of expectations, with a combined trading volume of just $11 million, a fraction of the expected $100 million. Bitcoin ETFs accounted for $8.5 million of the tally, while ether ETFs contributed the rest.

The cumulative volume is also significantly lower than the U.S.-based spot BTC ETFs' first-day tally of $655 million. Nearly a dozen spot BTC ETFs began trading in the U.S. on January 11 and have pulled in nearly $12 billion in investor funds since then. Inflows, however, have recently slowed, stalling bitcoin’s uptrend.

Spot ETFs allow investors to take exposure to cryptocurrency without having to own it. They are considered a better option than futures-based ETFs, which are subject to rollover costs.