Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia features the industry’s most important events.
Hong Kong is on the rise
On February 20, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). launched consultation on proposed regulatory requirements for digital asset trading platforms.
The SFC requires all cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Hong Kong or requiring services from Hong Kong investors to be licensed by June 2023.
In addition, the SFC said it will seek feedback on whether licensed platform operators should be allowed to provide services to retail investors and what measures should be put in place to ensure the suitability and inclusion of tokens when establishing business relationships with customers.
Currently, retail trading of cryptocurrencies is prohibited in Hong Kong. The announcement that China’s special administrative region was dipping its toes back into cryptocurrency immediately sparked a bullish reaction from everyday users and executives alike. Brian Armstrong, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase,he wrote:
“America risks losing its status as a financial center in the long term without clear rules for cryptocurrencies and a hostile environment from regulators. Congress should act soon to pass clear legislation. Crypto is open to everyone in the world and others are leading. EU, UK and now HK.
To be fair, he wrote that in response to a tweet suggesting that retail trading would be allowed from June 1, which is not the case, but the sentiment remains. At the same time, Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, said in a report. tweet:
“My working thesis is that the next bull run will start in the East. It will be a humbling reminder that cryptocurrencies are a global asset class and that the West, indeed the US, has only ever had two options: embrace it or be left behind. It can’t be stopped. We know that.”
Shortly after, Gate.io and Huobi Global cryptocurrencies established that they would apply for crypto exchange licenses in Hong Kong. Both exchanges stated that they will comply with relevant regulations in order to offer services to Hong Kong clients. Cryptocurrency users and interested parties can participate in the SFC consultation until March 31.
FTX Japan customers withdraw $49 million
On February 21, FTX Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, restored withdrawals for its customers after assets were frozen for around three months in international bankruptcy proceedings.
Customer funds, which were managed separately in accordance with Japanese laws and regulations, were worth JPY 5.6 billion ($41.58 million) in digital currencies and JPY 1 billion ($7.43 million) in fiat as of February 20 currencies.
The company also reported own net assets of around JPY 10 billion ($74.3 million) in September 2022, which increased to JPY 17.8 billion ($132.2 million) in the latest update on November 21, 2022.
More than JPY 6.6 billion (USD 49 million) in crypto and fiat has left the exchange since withdrawals reopened. To withdraw, users were required to verify their account balance and transfer their assets to Liquid Japan, another cryptocurrency exchange previously acquired by FTX.
According to the FTX Japan table, 3,453 individuals and 94 corporate accounts were eligible to withdraw their balances. There were 1,947 fiat withdrawals and 5,697 total cryptocurrency withdrawals. A total of 7,026 accounts were transferred from FTX Japan to Liquid Japan. They were lucky because as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings, the vast majority of FTX customers, including FTX US users, are still there they cannot withdraw their property.
NBA China wants to mint more NFTs
On February 21. the Chinese subsidiary of the National Basketball Association (NBA). he announced partnership with Alibaba-owned Ant Financial. In addition to many items, the two entities will implement a comprehensive cooperation in the area of NBA video content, broadcast programs, joint membership and the creation of a miniseries.
In addition, both NBA China and Ant Financial want to further continue the joint development of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and introduce “multimedia NFT drops for fans”. Since last year, NBA China has minted a series of Chinese New Year-themed NFTs using Ant Chain.
Tencent Cloud’s Big Leap to Web 3
According to February 22 notificationTencent Cloud, the cloud brand of Chinese Internet giant Tencent, announced that it will support the development of the Web 3.0 ecosystem and provide technical support to developers to support its digitization.
First, Tencent Cloud unveiled a new product called “Metaverse-in-a-Box,” which the Internet giant says will act as a comprehensive solution that integrates infrastructure, products, software development kits, and low-code solutions. it is mainly used in games and media entertainment.
In addition, the firm has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ankr, Avalanche, Scroll and Sui to achieve these goals. For Ankr, this means the joint deployment of a series of blockchain API services for remote procedure call nodes on Tencent Cloud. As for Avalanche, it will join forces with Tencent Cloud to provide developers with efficient and fast node setup. Finally, Tencent Cloud will help developers build practical projects on Scroll and create cloud game development tools with Sui. Tommy Li, Vice President of Tencent Cloud said:
“Tencent Cloud Metaverse-in-a-Box meets the needs of customers and developers for various scenarios, helping them get a better real-time interactive experience, more extensive communication and more secure access services, and quickly create virtualized and virtualized online and video. application of metaverse scenes.’
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DeFi token surges 550% after Huawei shill.
In a 30 second video posted by a Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Huawei On February 21, the firm introduced the DeFi protocol Defactor from its co-founder Alejandro Gutierrez. During the video, Gutierrez said the project is about creating a bridge between traditional finance with DeFi, exploring real-world asset tokenization, and building partnerships with startups and large corporations like
In the eyes of cryptocurrency investors, Gutierrez’s statements were anything but ordinary. Defactor tokens (FACTR) immediately after the video is published. recordeda gain of over 550% in less than three days trading at $0.14 a piece at the time of publication. Defactor is currently part of the Huawei International Scale-Up Program in Ireland.
