Topic
De facto central bank aims for first-mover advantage through blockchain technology, providing welcome lift to Hong Kong’s image as global financial centre
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- The Asian finance hub’s upcoming spot cryptocurrency ETFs could attract regional investors who do not want to bother with US accounts and tax forms, experts say
- Hong Kong is the first major financial market to offer spot ether ETFs, but some were dismissive, noting the city’s small ETF market relative to the US
Bosera Asset Management, HashKey Capital, Harvest International and ChinaAMC are all working on spot crypto ETFs after the SFC’s first conditional approvals.
Tokenisation has proved to be cheaper, more efficient and better than ‘the old-fashioned way of trading’, Noel Quinn says, but HSBC will stay ‘away from crypto’.
HashKey will facilitate the sale and purchase of Toncoin, the native token of the TON blockchain, which was started by Telegram Messenger.
Crypto industry executives were touting the benefits of bitcoin at the four-day Web3 Festival amid anticipation for the approval of spot ETFs this month.
Vitalik Buterin made a rare last-minute appearance at Hong Kong’s biggest Web3 event for a 20 minute technical talk on blockchain tech.
Hong Kong’s biggest licensed cryptocurrency exchange operator has launched a global trading platform, but it is not available in the US or China.
While there were fewer exhibitors this year, the Web3 Festival has attracted a more international crowd with 80 per cent of participants from outside the city.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino’s new venture Holepunch has launched a peer-to-peer messaging app called Keet to aid the mission of ‘financial freedom’.
HKVAEX is advising users to withdraw funds this month ahead of its May 1 shutdown, just three months after it submitted an application for a crypto licence.
The background of Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum has come under the spotlight, and one of his close aides has a mixed track record as an entrepreneur.
HSBC Gold Token, which will be available on the lender’s online banking and mobile app, is the first such retail product to be issued by a bank, according to HSBC, as the government pushes for more digital assets to be rolled out for public use.
Bitcoin halving, a once-every-four year event baked into the system, will slash the reward that is the main revenue stream for miners.
The Web3 video gaming unicorn has signed an MOU with Saudi Arabia’s state-backed science park, months after a US$50 million investment in its Neom smart city.
Hong Kong’s Global Shipping Business Network has finished a prototype of its first electronic bill of lading in collaboration with Ant Group’s ZAN blockchain unit.
The Chinese company, which tripled its profits in 2023, ailed the success of its new-found focus on AI after a series of misfired bets ranging from cryptocurrencies to smartphones.
The HKMA’s new wholesale central bank digital currency project aims to enhance interbank settlements for tokenised money. A planned sandbox will test settlement of tokenised real-world assets.
Chainlink will host its annual SmartCon in Hong Kong this October, an announcement that comes after CoinDesk said it is bringing Consensus to the city next year.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the second phase of a pilot programme to explore ‘innovative’ uses for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for public use, five months after it unveiled the results of the first trial run.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched a plan to trial stablecoins, announced in December, for companies with a ‘genuine interest’ in fiat-backed crypto.
‘We’ve always been at the cutting edge of the whole blockchain evolution, including CBDCs,’ Yue, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, tells the Post.
Blockchain is shaking up the financial sector and, given the popularity of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, regulators will need to step up their game when it comes to consumer protection and oversight, says the president and chief executive of fund manager Franklin Templeton.
Wild fluctuations in bitcoin’s value remain the norm, and cryptocurrencies have yet to enter the mainstream, an Economic Daily article says.
Cryptocurrency analysts are increasingly investigating the mechanics of how criminals hide their proceeds as Asia’s online gambling and scam industries grow ever more sophisticated.
The SFC saw a jump in last-minute applications, but the number of applicants so far falls far short of the 70 that Singapore saw after a similar regulation.
Hong Kong secretary for innovation Sun Dong tells Economist conference city is a bridge to mainland China and poised to be a major AI hub.
The world’s fifth-largest crypto exchange is hoping to win customers in Hong Kong after exiting the mainland market.
The government will submit a bill on licensing rules for stablecoin issuers and OTC trading services to the legislature ‘as soon as practicable’, says the city’s financial affairs chief.
