This photo taken on Sept 24, 2020 shows a physical imitation of Bitcoin at a cryptocurrency shop near Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey. (OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Huobi Asset Management on Thursday launched four virtual-asset funds, including ones that track Bitcoin and Ether prices, becoming the first four such funds in the investment category to be issued by a licensed fund manager in Hong Kong.

Targeting US$100 million in total assets by September, the new offerings include three virtual-asset funds and a private equity fund for blockchain-mining-related businesses. The Bitcoin and Ether tracker funds are designed to mirror the performances of the virtual assets, allowing investors to bet on the cryptocurrency without holding any coins. The multi-strategy fund will invest in a basket of virtual assets.

Huobi Asset Management offers professional investors the opportunity to build virtual asset ownership in a secure, reliable and convenient manner via traditional fund products, eliminating concerns in the area of accounting treatment, tax implication and audit interpretation

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“Huobi Asset Management offers professional investors the opportunity to build virtual asset ownership in a secure, reliable and convenient manner via traditional fund products, eliminating concerns in the area of accounting treatment, tax implication and audit interpretation,” Huobi CEO Gillian Wu said.

“The funds launched are intended to cater to different types of investors with different risk profiles, and we are confident about the future growth potential,” she added.

The funds are open only to professional investors as defined by the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Securities and Futures (Professional Investors) Rules.

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Investment into virtual assets such as Bitcoin have reached new highs in volume this year amid a buyers’ frenzy from both institutional and retail investors who see them as safe-haven assets that are an alternative to gold. The cryptocurrency market capitalization hit a record $2 trillion this April, with Bitcoin holding at a US$1 trillion market cap for one week, according to data from market trackers CoinGecko and Blockfolio. The value of traditional equity markets worldwide is approximately US$95 trillion, while the debt market is about US$254 trillion.

The Bitcoin price hovered around $53,500 on Thursday afternoon after topping out at US$61,000 in mid-March, a development fueled by Tesla’s move to buy US$1.5 billion of the digital currency. Bitcoin has traded in a narrow range ever since.

Huobi, which is primarily engaged in the manufacture of power-related and energy products, was listed in Hong Kong in November 2016, and is currently developing the blockchain and virtual asset ecosystem. In March, the company obtained approval from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to manage and distribute funds solely in crypto, making it the second manager, after Arrano Capital, to become licensed in Hong Kong.