PANews reported on April 7 that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission officially issued pledge-related guidelines for licensed virtual asset trading platforms and approved virtual asset funds, which stated that licensed virtual asset trading platforms are allowed to provide pledge services, including providing pledges for virtual asset spot ETFs. Pledges allow investors to lock up their virtual assets to support blockchain networks and earn returns, but due to the risks involved, the Securities and Futures Commission will implement additional safeguards, including requiring licensed platforms to keep the pledged virtual assets and setting an upper limit on the proportion of virtual asset spot ETFs that can be pledged to manage liquidity risks.

Cai Fengyi, executive director of the investment products department of the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission, said that the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission is expanding the scope of eligible virtual assets. Initially, virtual asset spot ETFs mainly focused on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now more virtual assets have met the conditions for retail trading on licensed platforms, which will pave the way for the diversification of ETF products, such as a single ETF that tracks a basket of virtual assets.