• Chinese firm Penghua Fund has filed an application for a blockchain ETF in the country
• Shenzhen Stock Exchange released its Blockchain 50 Index to track stocks of listed firms in the blockchain industry

China just made way for its first ever blockchain-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF). A Shenzhen-based funds management firm, Penghua Fund, filed an application, dubbed Penghua Shenzhen Stocks Blockchain ETF, which was submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the main regulator of the securities industry of the country.

The Shanghai Securities Journal (SSJ) reported that on the approval of the application, the company will be the first one to launch Blockchain ETF in the country, which will help in tracking the operations of publicly listed stocks from blockchain-based companies. The SSJ also stated that if the proposal gets approved, it will pave way for other firms to file their own proposals for blockchain-based ETFs. The news report stated:

“The industry believes that with the landing of such fund products in the future, it will provide investors with a new way to share the development dividend of the blockchain industry.”

On the same day as the blockchain ETF proposal, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange released its Blockchain 50 Index which tracks stocks of top 50 firms by market cap in the blockchain industry. The Blockchain Index 50 includes companies such as Wholeasy, Ping An Bank and Zixin Pharmaceutical, as of now.

Although China continues to stick to its anti-crypto stance, President Xi’s endorsement of blockchain has led many Chinese firms to become part of the blockchain space. Over 500 blockchain projects have already been registered by the Cyber Administration of China. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is also working to test the digital yuan.

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