Hong Kong Ushers in the First ETH Staking Fund

HONG KONG, April 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Pioneer Asset Management Limited (“Pioneer”, ), a subsidiary of Tykhe Capital Group Limited announced to launch a new fund investing and staking in Web 3.0 proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains such as Ethereum 2.0. This fund is the first staking fund in Hong Kong, aiming to provide investors an additional source of potential return from blockchain native staking rewards, apart from plain exposure to PoS cryptocurrencies.

The staking fund comes at a time of ongoing “crypto winter”. This February, crypto exchange Kraken agreed to shut down its staking program in the US and was fined $30 million by the SEC, following a series of defaults and bankruptcies of lenders and deposit-taking platforms such as BlockFi and Celsius in 2022. It is foreseen that regulation and oversight of virtual asset activities will be tightened in the major jurisdictions.  In Hong Kong, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) also urged investors to be wary of the potential high risks associated with VA “deposits”, “savings”, “earnings” or “staking” services (VA Arrangements). Yet the regulation focus is coming from an investor protection perspective, not challenging the investment in staking services.

According to the website of Ethereum organization, around 18 million of Ethereum have been staked on the Ethereum blockchain as at the end of March this year, which amounts to around US$32 billion of value (calculated with the conversion rate at the time.) Against the soaring demand, as the first virtual asset staking fund manager, Pioneer creates a new compliant avenue to tap the immense market potential of PoS staking in Hong Kong.

Mr. Luo Xinghua, RO of Pioneer commented: “We believe that Hong Kong’s easing reflects the growing demand towards the development of virtual assets. The fund clears the way for institutional investors to grasp the upward trend of protocol staking, a main catalyst for the next crypto bull run.”

“The markets have seen early traction in offerings of general exposure to large-cap cryptocurrencies via tracker funds and futures ETFs. For mainstream institutional adoption, continuous innovation in product structure is needed, and protocol staking is one more step toward making crypto allocation a solid business case,” said a representative at Jasper Prime Technology Pte. Ltd. (“Jasper Prime“), the crypto asset industry advisor of Pioneer.

Hong Kong has just now completed a public consultation in March to discuss whether to allow retail access to licensed Virtual Asset trading platforms. A number of licensed brokers and fund managers are also currently providing virtual-asset related services to investors under the supervision of the SFC. The entry of financial institutions is gradually shaping the virtual asset space through the introduction of policies and procedures, systems and controls comparable to those in mainstream finance. It is opined that Hong Kong is just around the corner to become a top virtual asset hub.

About Pioneer Asset Management Limited and Tykhe Capital Group Limited ()

Tykhe Capital Group Limited (the “Company“, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group“) aspires to lay the technical foundation for the future of finance powered by Web 3 applications. With different arms of subsidiary companies, the Group builds a compliant infrastructure across the virtual asset ecosystem to create a brand-new digital finance ecosystem.

The Group has the following subsidiaries:

Hong Kong Digital Asset Ex Limited (HKbitEX) is a digital asset trading platform, providing dealing of virtual assets and related products for global professional investors. 

Pioneer Asset Management Limited is a SFC-licensed digital-native asset manager helping investors access the ever-evolving digital economy to build their future. Pioneer has obtained licenses for Type 4 (Advising on Securities) and Type 9 (Asset Management) regulated activities, be able to manage a portfolio comprising 100% virtual assets.

ON1ON Limited (“ON1ON Custody“) is a holder of the Trust or Company Service Provider (TCSP) license issued by the Hong Kong Company Registry. It can provide virtual asset custody services, and is committed to creating a safe, reliable, and legally compliant wallet with credible and flexible asset custody services. ON1ON Custody has fulfilled the service organization control framework (SOC) service audit report SOC 2 formulated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Atom 8 is a technology service provider that offers regulatory technology solutions, security token creation, token life cycle management, and wallet solutions.

ON1ON Wallet (managed by ON1ON Squared Limited) is a digital wallet service provider designated for individual users to store and manage non-fungible tokens (“NFTs“). It is the appointed NFT wallet service provider for TWGHs NFT Marketplace, the first charity NFT platform in Hong Kong.