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☆ Asia's first spot bitcoin and ether ETFs debut in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Dado Ruvic | ReutersHong Kong on Tuesday launched six spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds — becoming the first in Asia to offer retail investors the ability to trade the cryptocurrencies at spot prices. The cryptocurrency ETFs were issued by three Chinese firms — China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, and Harvest Global Investments — on the Hong Kong exchange. Spot bitcoin ETFs by ChinaAMC, Bosera HashKey and Harvest were above 3% higher in early trading, but subsequently gave up some gains to trade by about 1.5% higher. The three ether ETFs were trading above 1% in the morning, but fell into negative territory by the late afternoon. The spot crypto ETFs had received regulatory approval under the provision of virtual asset management services, but crypto futures ETFs have been trading on the HKEX since late 2022.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Bosera, Bitcoin, Antoni Trenchev, Nexo, Trenchev, Han Organizations: Reuters, Tuesday, China Asset Management, Bosera Asset Management, Harvest Global, Hong, Hong Kong's Securities, Futures Commission, ChinaAMC, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, CNBC, Stock Exchange of Hong, ., Harvest Global Investments Locations: Reuters Hong Kong, Asia, China, Hong Kong, U.S, Singapore, Dubai, Japan, South Korea, Stock Exchange of Hong Kong

☆ Hong Kong regulators approve launch of spot bitcoin and ether ETFs
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hong Kong regulators on Monday approved the launch of spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), asset managers said, following U.S. moves this year to bring these products to market. Harvest Global and Bosera International have also received SFC approval for bitcoin and ether ETFs, according to the companies. However, Hong Kong has slowly been trying to make itself a regulated crypto hub to compete with places like Dubai and Singapore. Hong Kong's moves come after U.S. securities regulators approved the trade of spot bitcoin ETFs, which have seen billions of dollars of inflows. Hong Kong would be one of the first places in the world to approve an ether ETF.

Persons: ChinaAMC, Bitcoin, Kong's, Yolande Chee Organizations: OSL Digital Securities, ChinaAMC, Hong Kong's Securities, Futures Commission, Harvest, Bosera, Hong Kong SFC, CNBC, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission Locations: Hong Kong, China, Dubai, Singapore, cryptocurrencies

☆ Fact check: Trump falsely claims that appeals court said ‘you won’ the civil fraud case he lost
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Daniel Dale | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

I won the case, because I won it in the Appellate Division. …I won the case because it’s called statute of limitations. The appeals court never said he won the case. The cutoff date would’ve been February 6, 2016, for any defendants Engoron decided weren’t covered by the agreement.) After Trump wrongly claimed to reporters, following the first day of the trial, that “about 80% of the case is over” because of the appeals court ruling, Engoron said in court the next day: “This case arrived at the App.

Persons: Donald Trump, “, ” Trump, Letitia James, Arthur Engoron’s, Trump, …, it’s, ‘, ’ He’s, He’s, he’s, Ivanka Trump, general’s, Engoron, that’s, Rather, ”, Alan Garten, ” James ’, ” Engoron Organizations: Washington CNN, New, Division, Trump, Trump Organization, SFC Locations: New York, Wisconsin, ”

CNN —Judge Arthur Engoron hit Donald Trump with his biggest punishment to date on Friday, in a ruling that fined the former president $355 million for fraudulently inflating the values of his properties. Combined with the $83 million judgment issued against Trump for defaming E. Jean Carroll, that means Trump has been fined roughly $438 million over the past four weeks. Engoron found that the defendants’ fraud saved them about $168 million in interest, fining Trump and his companies that amount. “Overall, Donald Trump rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial,” Engoron wrote. properties that offered a much lower valuation than reported on Donald Trump’s financial statements.

Persons: Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump, Jean Carroll, Trump, Friday’s, Engoron, “, ” Engoron, Letitia James, fining Trump, –, Bernard Madoff, Alexander Pope, ’, Trump’s, fixer ‘, Michael Cohen’s, Cohen, “ Michael Cohen, “ Trump, Michael Cohen, – who’ve, execs Allen Weisselberg, Jeff McConney, Eric Trump’s, “ Eric Trump’s, begrudgingly ”, Eric Trump unconvincingly, Donald Trump’s, Eric, Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, ”, Christopher Kise, ” Kise Organizations: CNN, Trump, defaming, Trump Organization, New York, Post, Independent, ‘, Trump Org, Independent Monitor, SFC, Washington DC, OAG, Division Locations: New York, Washington , DC, Ferry, Bronx, York, –, disgorgement, Washington

Here's the state of play globally for crypto regulation and enforcement in 2023 — and a look at what to expect in 2024. "However, much of their work has involved providing guidance to the industry through enforcement actions," continued Levin. Crypto market participants nevertheless hope that the spate of legal challenges brought to crypto companies in 2023 will bring clarity in the form of new regulations. The U.S.'s dominant role in global finance and its focus on consumer protection plays a crucial role in its leading position in crypto regulation enforcement. The region has been increasingly warming to crypto assets, despite a broader anti-crypto push from China, which banned bitcoin trading and mining in 2021.

Persons: Al Drago, Binance, Sam Bankman, Renato Mariotti, Mariotti, Richard Levin, Nelson Mullins Riley, Levin, ada, Changpeng Zhao, Damian Williams, Brian Armstrong, Armstrong, Alyse Killeen, Scarborough's Levin, FinCEN, Killeen, Diem, USDC, Braden Perry, it's, Kennyhertz Perry, Perry, Bafin Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, Getty, Regulators, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S, Alameda Research, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, CNBC, Capitol, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Department of Justice, Scarborough, CFTC, Protocol Labs, Southern, of, Stillmark, Meta, Visa, Mastercard, U.S ., European, IRS, European Union, EU, France's Financial Markets Authority, AMF, Treasury, Monetary Authority of, Three Arrows, Terra Labs, Terra, Hong Kong Securities, Futures Commission, SFC, OSL Locations: Washington, Europe, Asia, U.S, Alameda, of New York, European, Crypto, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Monetary Authority of Singapore, China, East, Africa

☆ Standard Chartered-owned crypto firm Zodia launches in Hong Kong
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Zodia Custody, the crypto security firm owned by British banking giant Standard Chartered, is launching its services in Hong Kong, the company told CNBC exclusively. "The Hong Kong government and the regulators see digital assets as the future and also want Hong Kong to be a hub," Sawyer said. Hong Kong has been increasingly warming to crypto assets despite a broader anti-crypto push from China, which banned bitcoin trading and mining in 2021. At first, it will seek to provide services for Hong Kong clients in a limit set of crypto assets. Zodia is also in discussions with both the SFC and Hong Kong Monetary Authority about becoming regulated in the financial district.

Persons: Julian Sawyer, Sawyer, Zodia Organizations: CNBC, Hong, Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, Japan's SBI Holdings ., Hong Kong Securities, Futures Commission, OSL, SFC, Hong Kong Monetary Authority Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Japan's SBI Holdings . Hong Kong, China

☆ Investors piled a record $12.6 billion into wellness apps during the pandemic. Now they're starting to bet on startups tackling mental illnesses.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The COVID-19 pandemic created a wellness boom across Europe, with mindfulness apps growing rapidly. VCs pumped a record $771 million into European startups tackling mental illnesses in 2021, per Dealroom. But psychologists have been clear that they are not substitutes for clinically-approved treatments for mental health conditions. Now, there is a new wave of startups looking to move beyond wellness and tackle mental illnesses. "The scale of the problem of mental illnesses became evident after COVID-19," Joseph Zipfel, chief investment officer at SFC, told Insider.

☆ Hong Kong set to shortlist crypto tokens for retail trading
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong securities watchdog will propose a subset of tokens it would allow for retail investors' trading, its chief executive said on Wednesday, as it presses on with a new regulatory regime that will make the city more friendly to crypto startups. Hong Kong's move to allow retail trading in cryptocurrencies has come after months of turmoil in the sector, with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX the latest blow. The SFC will start accepting applications for VASP licences, in mid 2024, Leung said. The new crypto regime requires all trading platforms and exchanges to apply for a licence failing which would result in fines and jail terms,Industry sources have said they expected the consultation on retail trading to start within the first quarter. Leung said the tokenization of investment funds and bonds will also fall under the purview of the SFC.

☆ Amid crypto turmoil, Hong Kong debuts first crypto futures ETFs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Two exchange traded funds (ETF) that track U.S.-listed cryptocurrency futures have raised a combined $73.6 million ahead of their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday in defiance of the sector's meltdown. Cryptocurrencies have endured months of turmoil, with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX the latest blow to the sector. The larger of the two, CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF (3066.HK), pulled in $53.9 million, according to the manager. "Coming after the recent liquidity problems affecting some of the crypto platforms, our two crypto futures ETFs demonstrate that Hong Kong remains open-minded on the development of virtual assets," said Yi Wang, head of quantitative investment at CSOP. On Friday, each lot trading on the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) (0388.HK) will debut at HK$780 each.

That puts Hong Kong in a league of its own. The competitive tension between Hong Kong and Singapore is greater than ever. The danger is that Hong Kong’s new embrace of virtual assets will set up a regulatory race to the bottom, even if FTX’s collapse means it might happen at a slower pace. The policy statement notes that retail investors in other markets have been granted exposure to virtual assets including through exchange-traded products. Column by Thomas Shum in Hong Kong, Pranav Kiran in Bengaluru.

☆ Hong Kong's leading crypto retail operator says it ceases trading as FTX fallout roils sector
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Georgina Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A leading cryptocurrency retail service provider in Hong Kong said it has ceased trading as the broader fallout from the collapse of FTX, and solvency issues at other major crypto firms, continues to roil the sector. Genesis Block has no connection with a separate crypto player called Genesis Global Capital which suspended customer redemptions this week. One person with knowledge of the matter said one Genesis Block official was previously a director in FTX Hong Kong, but resigned from the directorship this month. FTX Hong Kong is one of the about 130 FTX-affiliated companies backed by Sam Bankman-Fried that have filed Chapter 11 bankrupcy proceedings in the United States. CoinHero's website offers a guide for its customers on how to buy FTT through Genesis Block's trading desk in Hong Kong.

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