The government of Hong Kong remains committed to the development of cryptocurrency infrastructure despite the ongoing industry crisis triggered by the FTX collapse. According to Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan, the local government and regulators are open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023. Speaking at an event hosted by the state-run incubator Cyberport, Chan declared that Hong Kong has become a foundation connecting high quality virtual asset firms, the public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported on Jan. 9. The financial secretary said that the Hong Kong government has received lots of requests to …

Hong Kong authorities are looking for new designs for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), now proposing to issue a CBDC in the form of a stablecoin backed by the government. Wu Jiezhuang, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, believes that turning the Hong Kong digital dollar (e-HKD) into a stablecoin would provide benefits for the adoption of new technologies like Web3. The option of developing e-HKD into a stablecoin has the potential to address the risks associated with virtual assets in Web3 effectively, Wu Jiezhuang said in an interview with China Blockchain …

Financial services providers in Hong Kong are already taking the first steps to provide services to retail investors, according to local reports. Brokers and fund managers in the region have reportedly asked for advice on licensing requirements ahead of new legislation. Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed an amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) in December 2022, which aligns with the region’s recent stance on broadening the possibility for crypto trading. The amendment introduces a new licensing scheme for virtual asset service providers, which will allow retail investors the ability to trade in virtual assets. Currently, virtual …

Hong Kong police arrested two executives of the crypto exchange AAX accused of fraud and misleading the police, according to local media reports. The former CEO of AAX, Weigao Capital Liang Haoming, and the founder of AAX, Thor Chan, were arrested on Dec. 23. Local authorities accused the company's head of declaring "system maintenance" as an excuse to delay customers from withdrawing assets amid liquidity issues. One of the executives also lied to the police about the timeline of his activities in the company, deliberately misleading enforcement authorities, the police investigation revealed. Two bank accounts of AAX as well as …

A start-up accelerator co-founded by Hong Kong legislative council member Jonny Ng Kit-Chong wants to attract 1,000 Web3 businesses to set up shop in the city-state over the next three years. Ng Kit-Chong is a member of the legislative council for the election committee constituency and has been in office since January this year. The engineer and politician has his finger in a lot of pots as he has declared owning shares in roughly 40 different companies. One such company is the start-up accelerator G-Rocket, which he co-founded alongside Casper Wong in 2016. Wong is the current CEO and spoke …

Crypto futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by CSOP Asset Management have raised $73.6 million in investments ahead of their listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Dec. 16. In an announcement, the ETF issuer highlighted that its CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF has raked in $53.8 million while the CSOP Ether Futures ETF has collected $19.7 million in initial investments. Both ETFs will be managed to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) futures listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to track the asset prices. According to Tim McCourt, an executive at CME Group, the listing of the ETFs shows …

Hong Kong’s legislative council has passed a new amendment to its anti-money laundering (AML) and terrorist financing system to include virtual asset service providers. The latest legislation will establish a new licensing regime for virtual asset service providers, set to come into effect from June 1, 2023. The new amendment will subject crypto exchange service providers to the same legislation as followed by traditional financial institutions. It means virtual exchanges looking to open a business in Hong Kong will have to go through rigorous AML guidelines and investor protection laws before being granted a license of operation. Unlike most other …

With the crypto winter slowing down developments within the space, two digital asset-focused firms will work together to speed up digital asset adoption for institutions. In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, crypto-focused company SEBA Bank said that it formed a partnership with the financial services firm HashKey Group to accelerate the institutional adoption of digital assets in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The two firms will aim to create various solutions for institutional investors seeking to dive into the crypto ecosystem. Both companies said that they are dedicated to compliance and embracing various regulatory frameworks within their jurisdictions. SEBA Bank CEO …

Central bank governors from around the globe are currently in Thailand to discuss the role of central banks amid evolving financial technology. The conference is jointly hosted by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). A panel discussion on digitalized monetary systems saw Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Changyong Rhee, governor of the Bank of Korea, Adrian Orr, governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and Cecilia Skingsley from Bank for International Settlements discuss the rise of digital assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and the risks associated …

Amber Group's co-founder Tiantian Kullander, also known as TT, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on Nov. 23, according to the company's official website. Tiantian was 30 years old and leaves behind a wife and a son. Besides co-founding the Hong Kong-based Amber Group, TT sat on the board of the e-sports company Fnatic and founded KeeperDAO, a DeFi protocol that allows participants to trade, borrow and stake assets with protection from miner value extracted (MEV) bots, before returning it to the community. In an official statement, Amber Group noted that TT had devoted his heart and soul to the …

The fall of crypto giants this year reignited questions about the stability of cryptocurrencies and their impact on fiat ecosystems. Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) assessed the situation and found that the instabilities of crypto assets, including asset-backed stablecoins, can potentially spill over to the traditional financial system. The HKMA assessment on asset-backed stablecoins pointed out the risks of liquidity mismatch, negatively impacting their stability during “fire-sale” events. A fire sale event relates to a momentary price fluctuation when investors can purchase stablecoins cheaper than their market price — a phenomenon noticed during the Terra (LUNA) crash. According to Hong …

In the wake of the recent FTX scandal, another crypto business is feeling the market effects. Genesis Block, a frontrunner for providing cryptocurrency retail services in Hong Kong, announced it will cease trading and shutter operations, according to reports. According to an email sent out to its customers by the compliance department, the company said from Dec. 10 of this year, it will be closing down its over-the-counter (OTC) online trading portal. Wincent Hung, the CEO of the company, told Reuters that the company has ceased trading as counterparties continue to shutter in light of the FTX fallout, and no …