"Golden Chain Leader" Hang Seng ETF Listing, a Major Step for Traditional Finance Moving Towards Web3

The RWA (Real World Assets) track welcomes industry heavyweight players. As a longstanding financial giant in Hong Kong, Hang Seng Investment has officially entered the market, with the “Hang Seng Gold ETF” (code 03170.HK) recently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. What’s even more noteworthy is that behind this fund lies the blockchain presence—it’s planning to tokenize on Ethereum, becoming a concrete example of traditional financial institutions deploying Web3.

Physical Gold Backing, Trust You Can Verify

The core advantage of this ETF is its backing by physical assets. All gold bars are stored in the Hong Kong International Airport vault and are custodied by the globally renowned financial institution HSBC. This model of linking physical and digital assets exemplifies RWA—combining the security of traditional assets with the liquidity of digital assets.

Compared to purchasing gold independently, which involves complex costs such as storage, insurance, and transportation, participating through an ETF is more convenient and efficient.

Fee Optimization and Convenience, a New Choice for Gold Investment

Regarding management fees, the annual rate is only 0.25%, providing investors with tangible cost savings. Traditional gold investments often incur hidden costs like custody, insurance, and transportation fees, which tend to be higher. This fund consolidates and transparently presents these costs, allowing ordinary investors to participate in gold asset allocation at relatively low costs.

In terms of investment convenience, gold tokens like PAXG are currently priced around $4,850, down 2.36%, with stable market liquidity.

Tokenization Is the Main Event, Signaling Traditional Finance’s Entry into Blockchain

More strategically significant than fee optimization is the tokenization plan. This fund is planning to adopt a “tokenization” approach, using Ethereum as the underlying technology. Although currently mainly settled over-the-counter, this marks the official beginning of traditional financial institutions migrating toward blockchain.

Tokenization means that gold assets will exist in the form of digital certificates, allowing investors to trade gold exposure just like trading crypto assets, lowering entry barriers and increasing liquidity. This is an important step for traditional assets to connect with the Web3 world.

RWA Track Gains a Major Player, Signaling Financial Institutions’ Push into Web3

Hang Seng Investment’s move is not an isolated case. As Bitcoin prices hit new highs, the Ethereum ecosystem continues to expand, and Layer 2 solutions like BTR become more mature, traditional financial institutions are channeling capital into blockchain through the tokenization of stable assets like gold.

The message conveyed by this wave of actions is clear: the tokenization of physical assets is no longer a distant vision but a current reality. From the actions of a heavyweight participant like Hang Seng Investment, it’s evident that RWA is evolving from a niche concept into a mainstream strategic layout for financial institutions. Gold on the blockchain is just the beginning.