UPDATED: April 15, 2024, 4:24AM EDT
Bitcoin 
BTC
+3.09%
and ether prices rose on Monday afternoon in Asia as Hong Kong gave preliminary approval to local spot crypto exchange-traded fund applications. The price of bitcoin rose 2.8% to $66,425, while ether gained 5.2% to $3,252 in the past 24 hours as of 4:15 p.m. in Hong Kong, according to The Block’s price page.
The two largest cryptocurrencies and most other tokens recovered after Iran’s drone attack on Israel triggered a mass selling of crypto assets over the weekend. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000, while ether also dropped below $3,000 momentarily.
Meanwhile, the GMCI 30, which measures the performance of a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, gained 4.6% in the last 24 hours.
Hong Kong ETFs
The price recovery came as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) gave in-principle approval to a slew of spot crypto ETF applications from local financial institutions. The list includes China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management and HashKey Capital, and Harvest Global Investments.
The Hong Kong institutions’ new ETFs will open spot investment channels for not only bitcoin but also ether, which has not yet been approved in the U.S.
“HK ETF approval means BTC and 
ETH
+7.10%
are becoming mainstream assets that even your mother could buy from a bank,” wrote Decentralised Gaming Ventures co-founder Joseph Young on X. “This is a game changer.”
The SFC did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for comment.
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About Author
Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.