Earlier this month, Hong Kong officially opened crypto trading to retail investors and upgraded licenses of two exchanges. "This will further boost investor confidence, making Hong Kong more attractive as a potential global virtual asset hub," said Lai. He concluded some crypto firms could leave the U.S. for more progressive jurisdictions as a result. Asia's regulatory clarityAcross the Pacific, Singapore and Hong Kong offer far more operational clarity for many industry players "Singapore has the first mover advantage in the Asia Pacific region, including being ahead of Hong Kong. watch nowSingapore's Payment Services Act — a framework for regulating payment services and the provision of crypto services to the public — came into effect in January 2020.

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Persons: Ben Charoenwong, Lennix Lai, Lai, Ong Chengyi, Chainalysis, Hong, Blockchain.com, Ripple, Hong Kong, Janice Goh, Coinbase, Binance, Brad Garlinghouse, Goh Organizations: Getty, Nurphoto, National University of Singapore Business School, Monetary Authority of, Cavenagh, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, MAS Locations: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, China, Asia, U.S, Hong Kong . Hong Kong, Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong, Pacific