The digital assets industry has found a new home in Hong Kong. The city's regulators initially rolled out their comprehensive licensing regime in 2019, and have since further refined it multiple times. Starting June 1 2023, all virtual asset trading platforms, whether already operating or being created, have to either start the application process or cease their operations.
One Year After: The Evolution of HK's Crypto Licensing Regime
Donald Day, COO of VDX, provides valuable insights on Hong Kong's evolving digital asset landscape and the city's role as a global digital asset hub.
Latest
Hyperliquid in Talks With Kraken Parent Payward on US Market Entry
A deal would route a subset of Hyperliquid's perpetual futures through Payward's CFTC-regulated Bitnomial exchange, giving the decentralized platform a compliant path into the US market it has never been able to serve directly.
London Stock Exchange Partners With Payward to Explore Tokenised UK Equity Markets
LSEG plans to bring the 100 largest London-listed companies onchain as Payward's xStocks and is separately assessing a UK tokenised equity structure of its own, with trading targeted for 2027 pending regulatory approval.
Singapore Proposes Stablecoin License With 100% Reserves, No Holder Interest
MAS opened a consultation on the legislative amendments needed to bring its 2023 stablecoin framework into force, formalizing a protected "MAS-regulated stablecoin" label as regulated tokens are already being piloted in payment and settlement projects across the city-state.
A Hollow Recovery?
Bitcoin has recovered 31% from its lows, but the capital behind that recovery remains questionable. Whale accumulation is rising while retail distributes, stablecoin growth stays muted and leveraged derivatives drive volume—leaving $77,000 as the next critical test.