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Hong Kong’s Patient Approach to Regulating Crypto Will Pay Off: LegCo’s Duncan Chiu

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2 месяца ago

10 февраля, 2025

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Crypto regulations are a competitive business in Asia, with places such as Hong Kong and Singapore vying to become Asia’s crypto hub and capture all the business associated with that status.

The challenge, though, lies in crafting a rulebook that balances investor protections with a welcomingness to businesses and new capital. And here, Hong Kong has an advantage over places like Japan or Korea, since its common-law framework for traditional finance has made its economy one of the most open and free in the world — a recent report from a Canadian think tank deemed Hong Kong the “freest economy” in the world, with Singapore just behind it in second place.

With crypto, however, Hong Kong has moved relatively slowly, especially compared to Singapore. But Duncan Chiu, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and chair of its Technology and Innovation committee, which oversees Hong Kong’s technology parks and research facilities, says the territory’s initial caution with respect to regulating crypto comes with advantages.

“Being a late mover is a good thing sometimes because you have a clear picture,” said Chiu in a recent interview with CoinDesk. For example, he pointed to how the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s main financial regulator, has moved quickly to pass rules for crypto. MSA initially regulated crypto under its Payment Services Act, treating crypto inaccurately as a payment tool rather than an asset class. Japan did the same thing early on, forcing later revisions in 2024 as DeFi and tokenization eventually gained traction.

“While Hong Kong started late, the good thing is there were clearer patterns of how these products were being used,» said Chiu, who is one of the most prominent voices for crypto in Hong Kong, along with fellow LegCo member Johnny Ng. Chiu further pointed out how the original bitcoin white paper labeled the asset class as electronic cash, while the market reality is it’s become more of a commodity — a view shared by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission — as another example of how market behavior around crypto has evolved and needed regulations to adapt.

Building regulatory alignment

One of the key issues Chiu said he’d like to work on in the LegCo is building a clear classification for different types of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies vs. stablecoins, while also working with global regulators to ensure alignment among them.

“We need clear definitions and segmentation,” Chiu explained. “Some assets should be regulated like securities, while others should remain unregulated, like memecoins.”

According to Chiu, memecoins should be treated as collectibles, much like Pokémon cards or stamps.

«Memecoins don’t have functionality behind them — they don’t use smart contracts,” Chiu said. “They’re just collectible items, so I see no reason to regulate them like financial products.»

A dedicated crypto regulator?

Given how unique crypto is as an asset class, some jurisdictions, such as Dubai and its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), have created their own separate regulator for virtual assets.

When asked whether he felt Hong Kong should take the same path, Chiu recalled that in his early years in the LegCo, he had initially supported the creation of a digital version of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the territory’s markets regulator, called the “eSFC.”

However, Hong Kong’s government has instead chosen to keep crypto oversight under existing financial regulators. The SFC has a dedicated digital asset team, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) oversees stablecoins. Chiu said that for now, he’s satisfied with this arrangement, especially as the SFC expands its headcount even as the government calls for austerity elsewhere.

“The government’s intention is to keep everything under the SFC. They will have a team inside the SFC, and they’re hiring. We just approved that in LegCo,” Chiu noted.

LegCo’s crypto priorities

Chiu sees establishing OTC trading and custodian regulations as the next major priorities for the LegCo, while leaving building rules around crypto derivatives and leveraged trading to the SFC and crypto exchanges, rather than passing new laws.

Chiu considers crypto regulation a top-five priority, the others mostly being around Hong Kong’s economic recovery and public safety issues. But he acknowledges that not all of his fellow LegCo members share this same urgency regarding crypto regulation, with some wanting to focus on building more stringent investor protection mechanisms first, in order to to avoid another FTX or JPEX, both of whose failures left many in Hong Kong — and around Asia — with a big hole in their digital wallets

However, there’s only so much legislative bandwidth available. Hong Kong’s job market is weak, and the real estate sector is on the precipice of a painful correction. Hong Kong is also caught between the U.S. and Mainland China in Donald Trump’s next trade war, making an economic recovery challenging for the territory.

“Some LegCo members are big supporters of virtual assets, but not all, of course,” Chiu said. «They all have different priorities.»

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Bitcoin Closing In on Historic Breakout vs Nasdaq

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2 часа ago

22 апреля, 2025

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Bitcoin (BTC) is on the cusp of breaking out relative to the Nasdaq 100 Composite, with the current BTC/Nasdaq ratio sitting at 4.96. This means it now takes nearly five Nasdaq units to match the value of one bitcoin. The previous record of 5.08 was set in January 2025, when bitcoin hit its all-time high of over $109,000.

Historically, each market cycle has seen the ratio reach new highs—2017, 2021, and now 2025—highlighting bitcoin’s continued outperformance against the Nasdaq.

Across multiple timeframes, bitcoin is increasingly diverging from U.S. tech stocks. Year-to-date, bitcoin is down just 6%, compared to the Nasdaq’s 15% decline. Since Donald Trump’s election victory in November 2024, bitcoin has rallied 30%, while the Nasdaq has fallen 12%.

When measured against the «Magnificent Seven» mega-cap tech stocks, bitcoin remains around 20% below its all-time high from February this year. This indicates that while bitcoin has shown strength, the top tech names are holding up better than the broader Nasdaq Composite.

Strategy (MSTR), a well-known proxy for bitcoin exposure, is also holding up better than the U.S tech stocks. Since joining the QQQ ETF on Dec. 23, MSTR is down 11%, while the ETF itself has dropped over 16%. The divergence has become more pronounced in 2025: MSTR is up 6% year-to-date, compared to QQQ’s 15% decline.

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Bitcoin Runs Into Resistance Cluster Above $88K. What Next?

Published

3 часа ago

22 апреля, 2025

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This is a daily technical analysis by CoinDesk analyst and Chartered Market Technician Omkar Godbole.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) bullish advance has encountered a resistance zone above $88,000, marked by crucial levels that could make or break the ongoing recovery rally.

The resistance cluster’s first and perhaps most critical level is the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at $88,356. The SMA is widely regarded as a key indicator of long-term momentum. Early this month, Coinbase institutional analysts called the downside break of the 200-day SMA in March a sign of the onset of a potential crypto winter.

So, a fresh move above the 200-day SMA could be taken to represent a renewed bullish shift in momentum.

Such a move would trigger a dual breakout, as the Ichimoku cloud’s upper end is located close to the 200-day SMA. A move above the Ichimoku cloud is also said to reflect a bullish shift in momentum.

Developed by a Japanese journalist in the 1960s, the Ichimoku cloud is a technical analysis indicator that offers a comprehensive view of market momentum, support, and resistance levels. The indicator comprises five lines: Leading Span A, Leading Span B, Conversion Line or Tenkan-Sen (T), Base Line or Kijun-Sen (K) and a lagging closing price line. The difference between Leading Span A and B forms the Ichimoku Cloud.

The third and final level forming the resistance cluster is the high of $88,804 on March 24, from where the market turned lower and fell back to $75,000.

BTC's daily chart. (TradingView/CoinDesk)

A make-or-break resistance zone?

Behavioural aspects of trading come into play when an asset approaches a resistance zone, especially at key levels like the 200-day SMA and the Ichimoku cloud.

Prospect theory suggests that people are typically risk-averse with respect to gains and risk-seeking with respect to losses, known as the “reflection effect.» So, as traders, people tend to be risk-averse while locking in profits and keep losing trades open.

This tendency is amplified when an asset encounters a significant resistance zone. Traders who entered the bitcoin market around $75K, anticipating a rebound, may feel pressured to take profits as the price approaches this resistance. Such selling could, in turn, slow the price ascent or even trigger a new downturn.

Conversely, if bitcoin successfully breaks through the resistance zone, the fear of missing out could prompt more traders to make bullish bets, further fueling bullish momentum and pushing the price higher.

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Bithumb to Split in Two as Crypto Exchange Inches Toward South Korean IPO

Published

3 часа ago

22 апреля, 2025

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Bithumb plans to split its core crypto exchange business from other activities as it reorganizes in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO).

The Seoul-based company will split in two, with Bithumb Korea focusing solely on operating the core crypto exchange business. Bithumb Korea will be the entity seeking a public listing, local media reported, citing the country’s corporate registry.

The other unit, a newly created company called Bithumb A, will oversee venture investments, asset management and new business initiatives. The restructuring is set to take effect on July 31.

Bithumb A will consolidate the exchange’s investment arms, including Bithumb Partners, which has shifted from NFT and metaverse projects to financial product investments such as equities, bonds and convertible bonds. According to local media, Bithumb is in talks with licensed entities to offer these services in the country.

Bithumb Investment, which manages equity stakes and strategic partnerships with external companies, will also fall under Bithumb A’s oversight.

Last year Bithumb was said to be considering a NASDAQ listing, but now its plans have shifted to a listing on South Korea’s Kosdaq first, with a U.S. listing as a secondary objective.

Bithumb posted an operating profit of 130.8 billion won ($95 million) in 2024, reversing a 149 billion-won loss from the previous year, local media reported.