A Hong Kong woman has reportedly been scammed to the tune of nearly $1 million after being enticed to send money to a fake crypto trading platform. According to a new report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), a 46-year-old woman from Hong Kong was tricked into sending just over $900,000 to 15 different […]
The post Hong Kong Woman Scammed out of Nearly $1 Million After Sending Money To Fake Crypto Trading Platform: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
New data from market intelligence firm Chainalysis reveals that global cryptocurrency gains topped $37.6 billion in 2023 as asset prices and market sentiment continue to improve after a challenging 2022. In a new report, the crypto analytics platform says that the United States accounted for the lion’s share of realized profits in 2023, hauling in […]
The post United States Leads All Countries With a Staggering $9,360,000,000 Worth of Crypto Gains in 2023: Chainalysis appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The head of the Philippines SEC clarified that Binance and any other unregistered exchange issued with an advisory has three months before they're banned from the country.
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission head Kelvin Lee clarified in a panel on Dec. 13 that the ban on Binance would come into effect three months after the advisory was issued.
According to a report from local news BitPinas, Lee said there has been a lot of confusion on the internet about the ban after regulators issued an advisory to the cryptocurrency exchange for operating without a license on Nov. 28.
He was asked to clarify the matter and that the ban was “supposed to be three months from the issuance date,” which he said was given on Nov. 29.
Singapore released an updated version of its national AI strategy that includes plans for boosting government competency, building a smart nation and increasing compute capacity.
The Singaporean government released its updated national strategy for artificial intelligence (AI) 2.0 on Dec.
Singapore structured its AI strategy into three distinct systems, consisting of ten “enablers,” which drive those systems and then 15 action steps to make the system work.
The updated plan's systematic approach focuses on three main areas of its society, including what it calls “activity drivers,” “people and communities,” and “infrastructure and environment.”
Among the action steps is Singapore’s plan to develop new AI “Centers of Excellence” (CoEs) across companies operating in the country to foster “sophisticated AI value creation and usage in key sectors.”
The updated AI plan also has benchmarks of equipping governmental agencies with “specialized knowledge, technical capabilities, and regulatory tools” and "sharpening” AI proficiency in all Singaporean public officers.
According to the vision, Singapore plans to use its government capacity to create resources to support AI adoption in the public sector.
Additionally, it said it plans to boost its quantity of “AI practitioners” or local experts to 15,000 through scaling up AI-specific training programs and technology and AI talent pipelines, and that it “remains open” to global talent.
The report said that various tech training programs centered around AI development have placed over 2,700 individuals in “good jobs” to date.
Financial regulators in South Korea have opened a window of time for people to come forward and report any unlicensed cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country.
Financial regulators in South Korea released an update on Dec.
The Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea collaborated on the initiative. DAXA includes five of the major virtual asset exchanges operating in the country, such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.
According to the regulators, the goal of receiving these reports is to find domestic and foreign virtual asset business operators targeting Korean citizens and not working per Article 7 of the Specific Financial Information Act.
Reports will first be reviewed by DAXA, and then the results will be forwarded to the FIU, after which it will respond to the former to determine the status of the operator and whether it needs to be notified.
An official from DAXA said that if operators continue to engage in “undeclared business activities,” then the FIU “plans to take necessary measures, including notifying the investigative agency.”
Related: North Korean hackers have pilfered $3B of crypto over past six years: Report
DAXA said reports can be filed through its tip email address, and should include all the information related to the business, reasons for suspicion, and evidence of its undeclared business activities.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she is looking forward to hearing from the finance ministers of some of the world’s most crypto-forward countries.
The weeklong Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit began on Nov. 11 in San Francisco. The highlight of the event will surely be on the sidelines, when United States President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Ping meet on Nov. 15. But with the focus of the organization being on the regional economy, the finance ministers’ meeting is also of primary importance.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in her opening speech at the finance ministers’ meeting on Nov. 13 that they will discuss “priority areas [that] are oriented toward the long-term,” with a heavy emphasis on sustainability. They will also hold one session devoted to supply-side economics and another on digital assets. Yellen mentioned unbacked crypto assets, stablecoin and central bank digital currency specifically.
“Sharing insights and engaging with the private sector has enabled us to deepen our collective understanding of the tools that policymakers can use to facilitate the responsible development and use of digital assets,” Yellen said. She added:
“I look forward to hearing your perspectives on the long-term role that digital assets and blockchain technologies can play in our respective financial systems, as well as how your authorities plan to approach regulatory oversight of their development and use.”
Yellen met with top Chinese economic official He Lifeng on Nov. 9 and 10. While cryptocurrency trading has been effectively banned in China since 2021, the country has taken a world-leading role in the development of central bank digital currency.
Related: Vietnamese Web3 coalition Ninety Eight launches $25M ecosystem fund
The perspectives Yellen will hear at the Nov. 13 meeting may be at odds with her own position, as the Biden administration is widely seen as not strongly favorable to crypto, and many consider Asia to be taking the lead in blockchain development. Asian economies have made notable strides in the metaverse, crypto trading and adoption.
I was honored to host APEC finance ministers at the California Academy of Sciences. It’s personally meaningful to welcome them to the San Francisco Bay Area, which I consider a second home. pic.twitter.com/pBYiVhrxAd
— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) November 13, 2023
APEC is made up of 21 Pacific-region “economies” in Asia, North America and South America. Membership is open to economies rather than countries to allow Hong Kong and Taiwan a place at the table without controversy. Ripple was a major (diamond-level) sponsor of the summit.
Magazine: China’s surprise NFT move, Hong Kong’s $15M Bitcoin fund: Asia Express
The authorities cited the Law on Digital Assets, enacted in February 2023, that forbids the issuance and trading of digital currencies and the crypto exchange operation without a national license, according to reports.
The Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan has officially confirmed they have blocked the Coinbase website in the country. The authorities of Kazakhstan have been blocking local IPs' access to Coinbase since September at least.
According to a Nov. 7 report from a local news outlet, Kursiv, access to the Coinbase website was blocked by an order of the Ministry of Culture and Information. Ministry representatives explained to journalists that the request came from a different government body, the Ministry of Digital Development, which accused Coinbase of violating the Law on Digital Assets.
The Law on Digital Assets, enacted in February 2023, bans the issuance and trading of digital currencies and the crypto exchange operation without a national license. The in-principal approval to operate is granted by the authority of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), a special economic zone of Kazakhstan.
Related: Kazakhstan establishes regulatory agency to implement CBDC
So far, Binance, Bybit, CaspianEx, Biteeu, ATAIX, Upbit and Xignal&MT have been approved by the AIFC Financial Services Authority.
The first reports about the problems with accessing the Coinbase website appeared in September, when the local Telegram media Finance. kz wrote that the “great Kazakh investment firewall” blocks access not only to Coinbase but also to Kraken and other major international crypto exchanges.
Kazakhstan has taken a stringent regulatory approach to crypto, including around its mining sector which is one of the largest in the world. In October, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, claiming that the crypto-mining industry is in a “very distressful situation” because of high energy prices for miners.
Magazine: Slumdog billionaire 2: ‘Top 10… brings no satisfaction’ says Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal
A digital asset exchange platform with ties to crypto titan Binance has reportedly announced its intention to apply for a license in one of Asia’s leading finance hubs. According to the South China Morning Post, HKVAEX was created as a separate entity under the company BX Services Limited, but Binance is behind it. HKVAEX was […]
The post Crypto Exchange Associated With Binance Seeking License in Hong Kong: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The notice came more than a month after more than a thousand users reported losses from the JPEX crypto exchange.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong announced it will update its policies on virtual currency sales and requirements “in light of the latest market developments and enquiries from the industry”.
In an Oct. 20 notice, the SFC said under the updated guidelines, certain virtual currency products will only be available to professional investors. In addition, intermediaries in the crypto space “should assess whether clients have knowledge of investing in virtual assets” prior to handling any transactions.
“Although virtual assets are becoming more popular in some parts of the world, the global regulatory landscape remains uneven,” said the SFC. “The risks associated with investing in virtual assets identified by the SFC back in 2018 continue to apply.”
The updated requirements considered virtual assets “complex products” under the SFC and subject to the same guidelines as similar financial products. The commission specifically mentioned crypto exchange-traded funds and products issued outside Hong Kong as examples of complex products.
Related: Less than 50% of Hong Kong retail crypto investors aware of relevant regulations: Survey
Many crypto users in Hong Kong are still reeling from the scandal surrounding the JPEX crypto exchange. In September, the SFC announced that it had received more than 1,000 complaints related to JPEX, with users claiming losses totaling millions of dollars. Local police later arrested six JPEX employees for operating an unlicensed crypto exchange.
It’s unclear if SFC’s updated policies are the direct result of the events surrounding JPEX, but the regulator said in September it would increase its efforts to keep crypto investors informed of risks. In October, the Hong Kong Police Force and SFC formed a working group aimed at monitoring and investigating potential illegal activities involving digital assets.
Magazine: Bitmain’s revenge, Hong Kong’s crypto rollercoaster: Asia Express
Asian and European stocks registered a bullish surge on Tuesday owing to the Fed’s hawkish outlook on interest rates.
Oct. 10 saw major Asian and European stocks surge higher owing to a wave of risk appetite.
Another major factor that played a key role in the bullish resurgence of European and Asian stocks was the United States Federal Reserve’s optimistic outlook on bond yields.
U.S. Treasury yields fell sharply on Tuesday, with Federal Reserve officials hinting that the central bank may be done raising interest rates. Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said the institution may “proceed carefully” in determining whether any additional rate rises are necessary, while Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan suggested that rising Treasury yields might prevent the Fed from doing so.
The early-week rush into supposedly safe assets like the dollar, gold and government bonds calmed considerably on Tuesday, while oil prices also saw a retreat from their spike on Monday.
The Asian stock market surged higher on Tuesday, led by Japan’s bullish momentum. Japan’s benchmark index, the Nikkei 225, registered a rise of more than 2.4%, closing the day at 31,763.50 points and leading stock advances in the region just a day after the nation returned from a national holiday.
The rise in Japan’s benchmark index was fueled by a surge in oil and gas exploration company Inpex Corporation, which registered the largest increase of 8.6%.
South Korea’s leading Kosdaq Index fell 2.62% to close at 795 — its lowest level since March 16 — while the Kospi Index reversed previous gains to dip 0.26% and finish at 2,402.58, its lowest level since March 21.
Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index saw an increase of 0.84% in its final hour due to Fed’s hawkish comments. On the other hand, mainland Chinese markets were down, with the CSI 300 index declining 0.75% to 3,657.13, marking a third consecutive day of losses.
Tuesday saw a significant recovery in European stocks owing to dovish remarks from U.S. Federal policymakers, which boosted the morale of the market.
Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index rose 1.5%, approaching its largest single-day percentage gain in nearly four weeks. After a spike in oil prices, and as investors looked for refuge in Treasurys and gold, the index was on its way to recover from Monday’s 0.3% decline.
The United Kingdom benchmark FTSE 100 Index rose to a one-week high on Tuesday owing to the Fed’s bullishness and expectations that the Bank of England would hold off on raising interest rates. On the other hand, the more domestically focused FTSE 250 Index rose by 1.6%, while the globally focused FTSE 100 jumped 1.4%.
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