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

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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 Holds Above $105K Despite Donald Trump’s Threats Against Elon Musk

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Bitcoin BTC held firm above $105,000 on Saturday despite an unusually combative and personal escalation in the Trump-Musk feud that could rattle traditional markets next week.

On Saturday, in a phone interview with NBC News, President Trump warned that there would be “serious consequences” if Elon Musk financially backed Democratic candidates running against Republicans who support the GOP’s budget bill. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump said, adding later, “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that.”

Trump, who has often boasted of past support from Musk, firmly dismissed the idea of mending ties. “No,” he said when asked whether he wished to repair the relationship. “I would assume so, yeah,” he added when asked if the rift was permanent.

Despite the intensifying feud between two of the most influential figures in U.S. politics and technology, Bitcoin remained unfazed. The cryptocurrency held onto earlier gains and continues to trade near weekly highs. The market’s composure suggests that traders may increasingly view BTC as a hedge against institutional dysfunction, or at least as an asset insulated from the partisan fallout that tends to impact equities more directly.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • BTC traded in a 24-hour range of $1,162 (1.13%), from a low of $104,624 to a high of $105,786, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
  • Strong support formed at $104,800, where above-average volume confirmed buyer interest.
  • Resistance at $105,200 was broken and has since flipped into a short-term support zone.
  • Volume peaked at 378 BTC during key breakout moments, especially around 13:43–13:46 and 13:53.
  • A short consolidation occurred between $104,300–$104,600 before the final surge to near highs.
  • An ascending price channel remains intact, showing bullish structure despite intermittent pullbacks.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

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Ether Holds Steady Above $2,500 as ETF Demand Signals Institutional Confidence

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Ether ETH has rebounded firmly from key support near $2,460, recovering losses and stabilizing above the $2,500 threshold amid broader market volatility.

The rally follows a higher low formation backed by above-average volume, signaling growing market confidence.

Institutional participation appears to be reinforcing the trend, with BlackRock’s ETHA ETF reporting $492 million in net inflows last week.

Total holdings now exceed $4.84 billion, reinforcing long-term bullish sentiment even as price action remains sensitive to geopolitical developments.

Traders are watching to see if ETH can challenge resistance in the $2,520–$2,530 range.

Technical Analysis Highlights

  • ETH traded within a $72 range over 24 hours, from a low of $2,460.35 to a high of $2,532.41.
  • A key support zone formed at $2,460–$2,470, where ETH bounced on strong volume during midnight hours.
  • Final hour surge reached $2,515.11, backed by 5,919 ETH in volume.
  • Higher low structure established with interim support at $2,485 and resistance at $2,503.
  • Final retracement held support at $2,507, with price consolidating around $2,510 into the close.

Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.

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Coinbase, BiT Global End Legal Fight Over WBTC Delisting

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Coinbase and BiT Global have reached a legal settlement that ended their dispute over the delisting of BiT Global’s wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) token on Coinbase.

According to a joint court filing, BiT Global has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the crypto exchange with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought again in the future. The filing notes that both companies will cover their own legal expenses.

BiT Global had filed the lawsuit last year in the Northern District of California after Coinbase delisted the token over what it said was “unacceptable risk” that the tokenized BTC would “fall into the hands of Justin Sun.”

Sun became affiliated with wBTC in August last year through a partnership, prompting Coinbase to question BiT Global about his role. Sun, a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, has nevertheless been supporting the token, with World Liberty Financial dropping its cbBTC for wBTC after he joined as an advisor.

The suit alleged the exchange’s decision was unjustified and harmed the token’s liquidity and reputation while favoring Coinbase’s competing asset cbBTC. Coinbase launched cbBTC just two months before announcing it was delisting wBTC.

The dismissal does not disclose any settlement terms beyond the cost arrangement.

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