The Chinese government’s beloved project of central bank digital currency (CBDC) has not sparked much enthusiasm in the citizens of Hong Kong. In the first four days since the “digital yuan” (also known as “e-CNY”) hard wallets became accessible to the islanders, only 625 Hongkongers had actually obtained them. As reported by the local newspaper on Feb. 28, the city of Shenzhen installed the machines, dispensing the hard wallets for digital yuan, the first of a kind in the whole country. Due to the city’s unique location as a gateway from Hong Kong to mainland China, the machines were programmed …

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io is gearing up to launch a presence in Hong Kong following the local government's planned $6.4 million (50 million Hong Kong dollar) cash injection into Web3 as per the city’s 2023-24 budget. Gate Group said on Feb. 22 that it will apply for a crypto license in Hong Kong allowing it to launch “Gate HK.” The firm's local company, Hippo Financial Services, gained a license in August 2022 to provide virtual asset custodial services. It comes as Hong Kong financial secretary, Paul Chan, announced the Web3-related funding and the creation of a crypto task force in a …

Hong Kong’s ambition of becoming a cryptocurrency hub is reportedly seeing subtle support from the Chinese government, in what could be seen as a contrast to the mainland’s hard-line anti-crypto stance. In October last year, the government of Hong Kong floated the idea of introducing its own bill to regulate crypto and allow retail investors to “directly invest into virtual assets” that could possibly be in contrast to China’s widespread crypto ban. According to people familiar with the matter, Beijing officials have not been brazenly opposed to the idea. According to a Feb. 20 Bloomberg report, it is understood that …

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) calls for public feedback on its newly proposed licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges set to take effect from June 2023. A key consideration of the public consultation window is whether to allow licensed exchanges to serve retail investors in the country and what measures should be implemented to provide a range of ‘robust investor protection measures.’ The SFC announced the consultation process on Feb. 20, outlining a new licensing regime for the industry which proposes that all centralized cryptocurrency trading platforms operating in Hong Kong must be licensed with the regulatory body. The …

Interactive Brokers, a global brokerage firm with headquarters in the United States, announced the launch of its crypto trading services for institutional clients in Hong Kong on Feb. 14. The crypto trading services were launched in association with OSL Digital Securities, a Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-licensed digital asset brokerage and trading platform for professional investors. Individuals with more than $1 million (8 million Hong Kong dollars) in investable assets or institutions with almost $6 million (40 million Hong Kong dollars) who are Hong Kong residents can now trade cryptocurrency alongside other asset classes available on the Interactive Brokers platform. …

Singapore state-owned megabank DBS Group is planning to expand its cryptocurrency services to Hong Kong as the Chinese territory pushes to become a digital asset hub. DBS Bank plans to apply for a license to allow it to offer crypto trading services to Hong Kong customers, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 13. “We are planning to apply for a license in Hong Kong so that the bank could sell digital assets to our Hong Kong customers,” DBS Bank Hong Kong CEO Sebastian Paredes said. Paredes noted that DBS welcomes new crypto-related policies in Hong Kong, and is also “very sensitive” to …

Regulators in Hong Kong are stepping up their game when it comes to monitoring the activities of the crypto industry. According to a Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) report filed on Feb. 6, it plans to hire four additional staff to “better supervise” the activities of local virtual asset (VA) providers. Moreover, the extra oversight will help “better assess the compliance and risk” in allowing retail investors the opportunity to trade virtual assets on regulated platforms. The commission wrote: “This is in response to an increasing number of operators who have expressed interest in carrying on VA activities such as …

In the key principles of its upcoming regulatory framework, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKNA) didn’t find a place for algorithmic stablecoins. Instead, the chief financial regulator will demand all stablecoin issuers back up their values with underlying reserve assets at all times. On Jan. 31, the HKNA issued the consultation conclusion to the discussion paper on crypto and stablecoins, summarizing the feedback from 58 submissions. In its summary, the regulator repeats the popular formula of a “risk-based and agile” approach, which is necessary for the maturing crypto industry. The regulatory arrangements, based on the consultation process, are expected in …

Despite the ongoing crypto winter, which has affected many businesses in the greater Web3 space, investments continue pouring into the space. On Jan. 17, the Hong Kong-based global asset manager HashKey Capital announced the closing of a $500 million investment round for its FinTech Investment Fund III. According to the company, Fund III will be used to invest in infrastructures, toolings and applications that will help push mass adoption of blockchain and crypto technologies. Speaking with Cointelegraph, Xiao Xiao, an investment director at HashKey Capital, said the synergies in the Web3 space are a key factor to what keeps investors …

Hot on the heels of its Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, Samsung Asset Management has indicated it's considering the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF on the city's exchange if policies allow for it. In an interview with Bloomberg published on Jan. 13, Hong Kong chief executive for Samsung Asset Management, Sam Park, said: “It really depends on how policy is going to be developed,” adding that the Hong Kong administrators are “clearly” interested in developing the city into a crypto hub. An ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, Rebecca Sin, noted that “Hong Kong is well …

In Hong Kong, the bell rings for Bitcoin (BTC). Samsung Asset Management Hong Kong (SAMHK), a subsidiary of Samsung's investment arm Samsung Asset Management, is set to list the "Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF" on the Hong Kong stock market on Jan. 13. The move comes amid a surge in interest from both the government and institutional investors in the region. The ETF, or exchange-traded fund, will track the spot price of Bitcoin by investing in Bitcoin futures products listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The ETF will primarily invest in the CME Bitcoin Futures, with some investments in …

When the new licensing program that is scheduled to take off in June arrives, retail traders in Hong Kong will be limited to “highly-liquid” digital assets, according to the new CEO of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Julia Leung Fung-yee. At the recent Asia Financial Forum, Leung reportedly pointed out that many digital asset platforms have thousands of products. However, the SFC executive highlighted that they are not planning to "allow retail investors to trade in all of them." Instead, the SFC will set up a criteria that allow retail traders to only trade major virtual assets. While …