Venture Smart Asia’s blockchain arm, Arrano Capital, has launched Hong Kong’s first approved cryptocurrency fund. The launch targets $100 million and offers an officially sanctioned window for institutional investors in Bitcoin.

The announcement emerged on Monday, after it cleared the licensing conditions which allows dealing in virtual assets with the Securities and Futures Commission. In 2019, local regulators began to find means of exerting oversight over the cryptocurrency industry. This is the first time of approving such fund since then.

Before now, the SFC granted licenses to cryptocurrency asset managers such as Hong Kong’s Diginex, but they are yet to meet the full criteria for running pure cryptocurrency funds marketable to professional investors only.

Throughout the world, people have discovered the means of investing in digital tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether. However, there is a likelihood of having an investment vehicle licensed by regulators to gain traction.

In spite of Arrano Capital not having a particular launch target, it is looking forward to surpassing $100 million in total assets via a fund tracking Bitcoin prices in the first year. This was revealed by Chief Investment Officer of Arrano, Avaneesh Acquilla.

According to Acquilla, it is the second product to be launched later this year and it will be an actively managed fund that deals with a basket of digital tokens. He continued that the launch was towards addressing professional investors’ demand on the market, as they continue to focus on Bitcoin as an alternative store of value. He noted the need for regulation to achieve wider acceptance for Bitcoin and increase trustworthiness.

The price of Bitcoin attained $7,064 on April 17 in Hong Kong, representing a 1.3 percent decline so far in 2020.