City Hong Kong Financial News

Hong Kong's Securities Futures Commission (SFC) will release guidelines on the licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges by next month. 

The Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission (SFC) is reportedly set to release cryptocurrency exchange licensing guidelines next month.

The United States Treasury Department has identified over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency traders who assisted North Korea’s Lazarus Group in converting stolen crypto into fiat currency. Crypto traders in China and Hong Kong have been sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, a China-based banker was sanctioned for coordinating some of the illicit cashflow.

China is expanding the use cases for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) called digital yuan or e-CNY for its Belt and Road initiative and cross-border trades. The digital yuan a.k.a. digital RMB was one of the first CBDCs to be developed and widely tested. While there hasn’t been an official launch, the government has expanded its testing parameter to include multiple cities and millions of people.

According to a report published by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE), two Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) and an Ethereum (ETH) ETF listed on HKSE averaged 9.30 million Hong Kong dollars ($1.19 million) in daily trading volume from Dec. 16, 2022, to Feb. 7, 2023. As the first region in Asia to provide such access to crypto ETF products, Hong Kong exchange operators praised regulator clarity for its role in "seizing opportunities in virtual asset development."

The High Court of Hong Kong has made a landmark ruling by recognizing crypto to be property in a legal matter that involved now-defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin.

A court based in Hong Kong has acknowledged cryptocurrencies as property that can be held in trust in a ruling involving the defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin. 

Bitcoin (BTC) price reclaimed the $30,000 support on April 18 after briefly testing $29,130 on the previous day. However, traders question whether the recovery is sustainable given the increased regulatory scrutiny, especially in the United States. 

Crypto lender Amber Group is considering options for its Japan unit, including a potential sale, as part of its plan to focus more on institutional clients, managing partner Annabelle Huang told Bloomberg. 

Crypto lender Amber Group is weighing options for its Japan unit, including a possible sale, and plans to apply for a Hong Kong license following the city’s pivot toward creating a digital-asset hub. The evaluation of the Japan operation is part of a strategic decision to focus more on institutional rather than retail business, Amber’s Managing Partner Annabelle Huang said in an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday. Japan is a “very high quality market, but regulations are strict,” Huang said, adding the firm doesn’t have an announcement at the moment about a deal. Singapore-based Amber acquired Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret Inc. in 2022. While Japan has eased some digital-asset rules, other firms like Coinbase Global Inc. and Kraken have already pulled back from the East Asian nation.

Hong Kong’s push to become a crypto hub has opened an opportunity for not just crypto companies but many state-affiliated banks in China as well. The Chinese banks have shown interest in building partnerships and onboarding regulated crypto companies in Hong Kong, despite a blanket bank on crypto-related activities in mainland China.

Amber Group, a Singapore-based crypto lender, is considering selling its Japanese unit as part of its plan to focus more on institutional business rather than retail business, Bloomberg reported. 

Hong Kong-based digital asset firm HashKey Group has enhanced its Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading business and launched a new wealth management business line amid increasing investor demand. 

Hong Kong-based digital asset firm HashKey Group has launched a new wealth management platform geared toward professional and institutional investors.

Thursday April 13th 2023 – DeFi Coin, a leading decentralized finance (DeFi) project, is taking proactive measures to prepare for regulatory changes in Asia and other parts of the world.

In a fireside chat during the Hong Kong Web3 Festival, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, expressed that it is important for crypto regulators to have a deep understanding of the industry to facilitate proper crypto regulations. The fireside chat was moderated by Deng Chao, the CEO of Hashkey Capital.

More than 420,000 merchants in Changsha, China, now accept payments in the digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency wealth manager Metalpha Technology is working to offer new entry points into Bitcoin (BTC) and Web3 to investors in Asia.

ZA Bank, Hong Kong’s biggest virtual bank by assets is reportedly set to provide crypto account services and facilitate crypto-to-fiat exchanges.

The city of Hong Kong is continuing its push for Web3 and crypto adoption, despite volatility in the market and regulatory crackdowns elsewhere, Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan has confirmed.

After Danish logistics firm Maersk terminated its blockchain-based supply chain platform last year, industry builders have not given up on blockchain applications in global trade.