Samsung Group to list Asia’s first blockchain ETF

Samsung Group’s investment arm is reportedly set to list a blockchain exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Hong Kong Exchange during the first half of 2022 in a bid to capitalize on growing demand. The ETF will have a structure that is similar to that of BLOK, one of Amplify Holdings’s ETF products.

South Korea’s Samsung Asset Management will attempt to launch the fund sometime within the first half of 2022 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, The Korea Economic Daily reported Thursday.

It’s the first time an Asia-based ETF of its kind – that includes crypto – will be listed in the region. The vehicle is expected to track a basket of major blockchain tech companies.

The move follows the asset manager’s acquisition of US ETF provider Amplify Holding Company in late March, in which it took a 20% stake via a special purpose vehicle. The investment arm is Amplify’s exclusive ETF partner in Asia, according to a press release.

Samsung’s ETF is expected to closely resemble Amplify’s BLOK ETF – albeit under its own brand – which invests 80% of its net assets into equity securities of blockchain-based companies. The BLOK ETF’s top holdings include Coinbase, Microstrategy, Nvidia, SBI Holdings, and Galaxy Digital.

Blockchain-based ETFs continue to gather pace following regulatory approval of several funds from major asset managers in recent months, hoping to capture the upside of crypto’s speculative fervor.

In addition to tracking crypto firms, BLOK also covers crypto-based ETFs, including Purpose Investments’ bitcoin ETF and 3IQ Coinshares bitcoin ETF.

Canada-based Purpose Investments’ ETF launched the world’s first bitcoin ETF backed by physically settled bitcoin in February 2021.

The move sparked a renewal of ETF applications across the world, including the US, which has yet to approve its first spot bitcoin fund, as a result of the SEC’s wary stance.

Some of the blockchain companies where Amplify Holding has invested include Silvergate Capital, the graphics processing unit (GPU) producer Nvidia, Galaxy Digital Holdings, and Coinbase.

According to The Korea Economic Daily report, the asset manager is planning to brand the ETF under its name. The report also revealed that SAMC may not be listing the ETF of the South Korean stock market anytime soon due to the country’s cryptocurrency regulations.

The report states, however, that the asset manager is considering listing some of Amplify’s other ETFs in the Korean as well as overseas markets.