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Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency
News and analysis about non-fiat, decentralised assets used as digital currencies, including bitcoin, ether, altcoins and stablecoins.
A booth promotes the digital yuan at an expo in Beijing. China is upgrading its digital currency as it aims to create an alternative to stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. Photo: AP
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.

Hong Kong

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

Banking & finance

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

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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.

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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.

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.

Police officers escort Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica in March 2024. Photo: AP
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.

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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.

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?

The People’s Bank of China has said stablecoins do not meet the mainland’s requirements on customer identification and anti-money laundering. Photo: Shutterstock
IPO

Hong Kong crypto exchange HashKey wins listing nod in test of investor appetite

HashKey could raise around US$300 million this month amid Hong Kong’s push to develop its digital asset sector.

HashKey is one of 11 licensed virtual asset trading platforms in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Fintech

Does tokenisation in China risk a repeat of the P2P lending crisis?

Tokenisation provides value, but the interest of multilevel marketers raises ‘genuine concerns’, forum speaker says.

Bitcoin

Uptick in China’s bitcoin mining prompts debate on tapping energy surplus

China’s oversupply rate of solar energy in some regions has exceeded 10 per cent while that of wind energy has reached up to 15 per cent.

Banking & finance

Macroscope | Global stablecoin surge highlights overlooked risks in crypto finance

The politics around digital currencies have extended into the long-running battle for supremacy between the world’s major currencies.

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A pedestrian walks in front of a currency mural on a shop shutter in Hong Kong on December 2024. Photo: Antony Dickson
Fintech

Hong Kong reaps the fruits of fintech seeds sown nearly 10 years ago

Hong Kong’s rise as a fintech hub is due to the concerted regulatory push, with the city competing with Singapore for regional leadership.

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Illustration by Henry Wong
Wealth: Alternative Investments

Will tokenisation revolutionise Hong Kong’s financial landscape?

Tokenisation offers fractional ownership and faster trades, but regulatory clarity and market adoption remain challenges.

Supported by
BNP Paribas Wealth Management
Bitcoin

Macroscope | Bitcoin’s bruising month shows the perils of going mainstream

Despite years of progress, the cryptocurrency is still in a vulnerable spot halfway between pure speculation and institutional adoption.

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