Asia Express – Cointelegraph Magazine

East Asia's weekly news roundup reviews the industry's most important developments.

Rumors of fake altcoin cancellations create panic in Korean markets

Upbit, about half of the altcoins listed on major Korean exchanges, fell 10 percent to 20 percent last week amid rumors it was coming, but not yet, a regulatory grab.

According to South Korea's EBN News, panic sold after a fake news spread that “financial authorities will review 600 domestic virtual assets every three months starting next month and stop trading of coins that do not meet maintenance standards.”

However, the country's Financial Supervisory Service has stated that it does not directly monitor any altcoin listing reviews.

“Financial authorities do not evaluate the goods directly, but examine virtual asset businesses. We have participated in creating best practices by receiving requests for support, but the announcement is made by exchanges and DAXA (Digital Asset eXchange Alliance).

Korea's new virtual property law will take effect next month. These regulations, in part, require the country's 29 registered crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, to periodically review the tokens listed on their exchanges and continue to support their trading.

Experts in the field explained that things like “circulation plan violations or unknown hacking incidents” in the new guidelines are “not much different than before.”

Binance introduces loyalty rewards for BNB holders

Crypto exchange Binance is set to reward its most loyal BNB tokenholders with airdrops for holding on for dear life amid the company's ups and downs.

“Users who hold BNB for a long time will receive benefits and hodler projects will be distributed to BNB holders,” Yi He, co-founder of the exchange, wrote on June 19. But how long have you held BNB in ​​retrospect? We work for BNB Holders!”

The staff of the exchange said that Binance HODLer Airdrops are designed to benefit users who invest their BNB holdings in simple income products. “This program will launch tokens from projects with high token supply that are set to list on Binance in the near future,” the developers explained.

The program includes small to medium-sized projects with strong fundamentals, significant circulation and vibrant, organic communities.

To participate, users must register for the flexible and locked-in Easy Income products using their BNB holdings and ensure that their account is KYC verified with the appropriate authority. Air-settled tokens are sent to users' spot wallets immediately before the token listings on the exchange.

In June 2017, during Binance's early days when it was still outside of China, the exchange raised $15 million in a BNB Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The token has recovered 402,159% since then and is currently trading at $601.74 at press time.

Hong Kong has zero tolerance for unauthorized crypto exchanges

Hong Kong regulators are getting tougher on crypto entities operating in the East Asian city after two unlicensed JPEX and Hounax forced investors out of pocket for hundreds of millions of dollars last year.

In the Securities and Futures Commission's annual report, regulators found only two of the 23 virtual crypto exchange license applications approved, HashKey and OSL. Those two exchanges received 234 in-person visits from SFC staff over the past year to ensure compliance.

On May 31, Hong Kong officially banned all unauthorized crypto exchanges, requiring all platforms that have not applied for an operating license with the SFC to immediately cease operations in the region.

It is a crime to operate VATP in Hong Kong in violation of AMLO. [Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance]And the SFC will take appropriate action against any violation of the law,” the regulators warned.

Spot Bitcoin ETF momentum is waning.

Investors' enthusiasm for Bitcoin ETFs around the world seems to have stalled.

On June 20, the first Bitcoinexchange-traded fund (ETF) to be approved on Australia's leading stock exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange, closed its first day trading volume at just $1.3 million.

Australia has about one-tenth the population of the US, so hard change equates to roughly $10 million in income. However, Australia has two Bitcoin ETFs listed on the options exchange CBOE, and such products will be available from 2022.

“While the Australian market is much smaller than the US and most of our flows are retail rather than institutional, there is an opportunity for us to follow a similar path,” VanEck's vice head of investment and capital markets Jamie Hanna told Cointelegraph.

Back in April, the first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF listed in Hong Kong had a one-day trading volume of around $12 million, which was billions of dollars higher than the debut of US spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.

All eyes are now on Ethereum ETFs in the US, which are scheduled to launch on July 2, after receiving unexpected approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said SEC staff on the spot said Ether ETF applicants' S-1 filings were “very simple, nothing major,” and asked staff to return the filings within a week.

The future of crypto in Hong Kong looks bright

David Wu, chief financial officer of Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL, can test Hong Kong as a global financial center through innovative crypto asset products. Wu said:

“Various investment projects can raise funds in Hong Kong through debt issuance or equity offerings. In addition to these traditional methods, companies can also issue security token offerings (STO) in Hong Kong, providing an alternative to mainstream fundraising methods.

Wu contrasted the East Asian city's “low tax rates, clear legal systems and comprehensive investor protection” with other Asian countries. “Institutional investors in virtual assets are facing difficulties in opening accounts. For example, many large banks in Japan refuse to open accounts for such funds, Wu explained. But Hong Kong banks are open to it, while many Chinese banks welcome specialized institutions to open accounts for virtual property investments.

Currently, Hong Kong's crypto exchange licenses allow cryptocurrency and asset trading, both features not available in other financial centers such as Singapore and the US. Actively explore policy-making to further enhance Hong Kong's leverage in the virtual property market.

Subscribe

A very engaging read in Blockchain. It is given once a week.