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TOPIC

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency
News and analysis about non-fiat, decentralised assets used as digital currencies, including bitcoin, ether, altcoins and stablecoins.
Spanish police arrest a salon owner for allegedly funding Hamas with cryptocurrency, seizing assets and freezing accounts. Photo: Shutterstock
Spain

Chinese hair salon owner arrested in Barcelona for funding Hamas via crypto

The 38-year-old Chinese national faces terror financing charges after allegedly laundering US$715,000 via cryptocurrency to the militant group.

South Korea

73 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia face online scam probe

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong promotes ‘responsible and sustainable’ digital asset regime at Davos

Banking & finance

Scam, corruption cases spark Chinese debate about future of virtual money

The Chen Zhi arrest might push bitcoin prices down temporarily, but analysts said other factors will have greater sway in the long term.

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Representations of the bitcoin cryptocurrency. Illustration: Reuters
China’s Communist Party

How Chinese corruption busters are tracking down bribes paid in cryptocurrency

A documentary on state television highlights how a senior central bank official was bribed with a digital currency.

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Crime

China accuses extradited billionaire Chen of running crime network from Cambodia

Beijing says mainland police will put core members of his crime ring on a wanted list and fugitives should ‘turn themselves in’.

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Fintech

Digital finance in 2026: what to expect as pilots move into real-world adoption

While digital money experiments promise greater efficiency, they also risk deeper fragmentation and regulatory pitfalls, experts warn.

Blockchain and Web3 technology are “inherently global”, but real-world applications must be “embedded in regulation and local use cases”, expert says. Photo: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

How China is upgrading its digital yuan for the stablecoin era

Beijing is upgrading its digital currency in response to the rise of stablecoins, but the goal is to create a fundamentally different system.

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Hong Kong

Trip.com tests stablecoin, offering USDT and USDC for prepaid bookings

The travel platform switched on stablecoin checkout in select markets, a cautious offshore pilot as Beijing keeps crypto crackdown in place.

Banking & finance

Opinion | To harness crypto ingenuity, financial threat must first be neutralised

Future of money must be shaped by competition between private ingenuity and public purpose, not by rent seeking and speculative bubbles.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong to broaden crypto rules with new licences for dealers and custodians

New frameworks mooted for virtual asset dealing and custodian services, as Hong Kong forges ahead with plans to become a digital-asset hub.

Regulators said on Wednesday they would finalise legislative proposals for two new licensing frameworks. Photo: Shutterstock
Technology

Opinion | Forget the US dollar. Watch water and energy resources instead

In our increasingly hi-tech-based economy and financial systems, energy and water resources will be macroeconomically critical.

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Blockchain

Video | How a Shanghai start-up is digitalising Chinese tea

Safety, verification and trust behind start-up company Teakan Technology’s goal to make traditional Chinese tea digitally traceable.

IPO

HashKey shares debut flat in Hong Kong amid bitcoin bear market

The firm, one of 11 licensed virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong, raised US$206 million in the city’s first crypto-native IPO.

HashKey executives and other exchange and government officials at the gong-striking ceremony to mark the company’s trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday. Photo: Karma Lo
HKEX

Nasdaq is planning 23-hour trading. Should Hong Kong follow suit?

HKEX plans to adopt digital currencies and tokenisation in the next decade, which analysts say are in demand for round-the-clock trading.

The HKEX logo is displayed at the Hong Kong stock exchange in Central, June 5, 2024. Photo: Edmond So
Blockchain

Coins in sand: how the UAE draws in the global crypto community

At Abu Dhabi Finance Week, insiders give credit to the UAE’s regulatory infrastructure and institutional adoption of digital assets.

United States

‘Crypto king’ Do Kwon gets 15 years in prison for misleading investors

The South Korean founder of Terraform Labs had previously pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from a US$40 billion stablecoin crash.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin drops below US$90,000 as AI worries sour risk appetite

The fall signals renewed market jitters after the historic crypto crash in October.

Standard Chartered slashes expectations that bitcoin would hit US$200,000 by the end of 2025, lowering its forecast to US$100,000. Photo: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

Hong Kong eyes info sharing on crypto assets to combat tax fraud, evasion

Compliance with OECD framework is of ‘paramount importance’ to maintain Hong Kong’s reputation as a finance hub, secretary says.

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IPO

HashKey aims for US$214 million in Hong Kong IPO amid Beijing’s crypto pressure

Retail investors oversubscribe crypto exchange operator’s offering despite China central bank’s tough stance on virtual assets.

Hong Kong

Crypto exchange Gate weighs Hong Kong licence return amid high compliance costs

Hong Kong’s policies pose some difficulties and covering the cost of operating locally is difficult, founder and CEO Lin Han says.

Lin Han, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Gate. Photo: Handout
Art

Singaporean buyer of US$69 million Beeple NFT opens art and technology space

Vignesh Sundaresan explains the aim behind Padimai Art & Tech Studio, which opens with a virtual reality work by artist Olafur Eliasson.

Singapore-based blockchain entrepreneur Vignesh Sundaresan (right), also known as Metakovan, has opened a new experimental art and technology space, Padimai Art & Tech Studio, in Singapore, whose first commission is a virtual reality work by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson (left). Photo: Yanina Isla
Banking & finance

Macroscope | Inflated asset prices show markets don’t always know best

With hyperinflated sectors across multiple asset markets, the next crash could be so severe that it prompts a restructuring of global finance.

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Blockchain

Chinese industry bodies issue RWA tokenisation warning amid Beijing’s crackdown

This was the mainland associations’ first warning to members as Chinese authorities have explicitly targeted RWA tokenisation.

Stablecoins

HashKey’s IPO seeks US$300 million under shadow of Beijing’s regulatory scrutiny

HashKey is likely to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange within the next two to three months ‘if it receives adequate investor interest’.

HashKey on Monday cleared its Hong Kong listing hearing after a confidential filing earlier this year. Photo: Handout
Blockchain

Crypto giant Binance appoints co-founder He Yi as co-CEO

He, who has children together with founder Zhao Changpeng, will share the title with Richard Teng.

Binance co-founder and co-CEO He Yi speaks at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival in April. Photo: Matt Haldane
United States

China’s crypto aversion dampens Hong Kong stablecoin push

The central bank’s latest attack on cryptocurrencies, specifically including stablecoins, is sure to cause concerns in Hong Kong among regulators and potential issuers.

China digital currency

Beijing’s crypto warning casts shadow over Hong Kong’s stablecoin ambitions

Hong Kong’s pioneering stablecoin rules have attracted 30 applicants – will Beijing’s latest warning force the city to rethink its ambitions?

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