Hong Kong’s preliminary approval of spot ether exchange-traded funds could give the region a competitive edge over the U.S. in the retail spot ETF market, an OSL executive said.

Gary Tiu, executive director and head of regulatory affairs at OSL, said in an interview with The Block on Monday that the in-principle approval of spot ether products was “absolutely spot-on.”

“Right now, the U.S. has not approved any spot ETH products. So the Hong Kong managers are certainly standing in a very good position when they launch the ETH products in Hong Kong for sure,” Tiu said.

Tiu’s comments come after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission today gave the in-principle approval to a slew of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, including those in which OSL acts as a sub-custodian and …