Hong Kong's securities regulator approved the first spot bitcoin and ethereum exchange traded funds (ETFs) on Monday, a milestone on the way to becoming Asia's first city to accept the popular cryptocurrencies as a mainstream investment tool.

In separate statements, the Hong Kong unit of Bosera Asset Management and China Asset Management said they had received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to launch the ETFs.

The step comes just three months after the U.S. launched the first U.S.-listed ETFs to track spot bitcoin. The U.S. launch set an example for other regions as it has already drawn roughly $12 billion in net inflows. (Reporting by Summer Zhen in Hong Kong and Jason Xue in Shanghai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)