The Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs have experienced inflows of $217 million, which is lower than the outflows from the 11 US Bitcoin ETFs. The debut of the Hong Kong ETFs may set a precedent for other regions, potentially influencing crypto prices in the long run.

According to James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares, the Hong Kong ETFs saw net inflows of $217 million this week, falling short when compared to the net outflows of $298 million from the US Bitcoin ETFs.

Institutional inflows from ETFs have played a significant role in the recent Bitcoin rally, reaching new all-time highs. By mid-February, Bitcoin ETFs accounted for around 75% of new investment in the leading cryptocurrency as it surpassed the $50,000 threshold.

Most outflows on May 1 stemmed from Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), selling over $191 million worth of Bitcoin. The second-largest daily outflows were from Grayscale’s GBTC fund, which sold $167.4 million in BTC.

The initial Hong Kong Bitcoin and Ether-based ETFs commenced trading on April 30, but the trading volume was below expectations. On the first day, the Hong Kong ETFs only generated $12.4 million in trading volume, significantly less than the first-day trading volume of US Bitcoin ETFs, which reached $4.6 billion.

Despite the relatively modest inflows, the launch of the Hong Kong ETFs has the potential to create a substantial precedent for other regions. James Wo, the founder and CEO of DFG, believes these ETFs introduce Asian markets to crypto exposure, potentially driving prices up over time.

The debut of the Hong Kong ETFs appeared to trigger a selling event for Bitcoin holders. Bitcoin dropped below the $60,000 psychological threshold on May 1, a day after the new ETFs were introduced. The last time Bitcoin traded below $60,000 was at the end of February.

Bitcoin lost a significant support level at $59,000, which also functioned as the short-term holder realized price (STH-RP) or the average inflow price of the ETFs. Losing the $59,000 threshold could result in Bitcoin retesting the $50,000 point, as stated by Jag Kooner, the head of derivatives at Bitfinex.