HONG KONG - Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds could be launched in Hong Kong this month with the first approvals likely to be announced next week, two people familiar with the matter said.

That timeline would make Hong Kong Asia's first city to offer the popular ETFs and is much faster than industry expectations of launches sometime this year.

Regulators have sped up the approval process, according to one of the people.

Bitcoin has gained more than 60 percent this year and hit an all-time high of $73,803 in March. It was trading at around $69,000 on Wednesday

"The significance of Hong Kong ETFs is far-reaching as it could bring in fresh global investment as well as pushing crypto adoption to a new height," said Adrian Wang, CEO of Metalpha, a Hong Kong-based crypto wealth manager.

The US launched the first US-listed exchange-traded funds to track spot bitcoin in January, drawing roughly $12 billion in net inflows, data from BitMEX Research shows.

Bitcoin has gained more than 60 percent this year and hit an all-time high of $73,803 in March. It was trading at around $69,000 on Wednesday.

US stocks fell on Wednesday after hotter-than-expected inflation data threw cold water on hopes the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates as early as June.

Hong Kong approved its first ETFs for cryptocurrency futures in late 2022. The largest one - the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF - has seen its assets under management swell seven times since September to around $120 million.

Hong Kong-based Value Partners has also said it is exploring launching a spot bitcoin ETF. It has not disclosed if it has submitted an application.