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Hong Kong Newspaper Apple Daily Carries Full Page Bitcoin Advertisement Few Days After CEO Was Arrested

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Bitcoin’s reach has gone far and beyond what people expected when it first came to the forefront more than a decade ago. From being considered as a niche virtual asset that would die out quickly to become one of the largest disruptors of the financial market, Bitcoin has certainly pulled its weight over the past few years.

The cryptocurrency’s mainstream appeal has sparked a global interest that has transcended the standards set by traditional banking institutions. Bitcoin’s popularity has surged so much that an advertisement for it was even spotted in a major Hong Kong daily.

Today, on August 24, citizens of Hong Kong spotted a full advert for Bitcoin in the Apple Daily, a popular daily publication in Hong Kong. The advert carried the message ‘Bitcoin will never ditch you, which was probably a rebuttal to major banks who are mired in controversies. The newspaper also printed out Satoshi Nakamoto’s name underneath the quote which has not provided any other leads as of yet.

The advertisement also came with an excerpt stating:

“Bitcoin is digital money. It is not issued or controlled by any government or corporation. Nobody can stop you from transacting on the network and it cannot be shut down. Bitcoin is available to anyone regardless of their nationality, gender, or beliefs. Bitcoin began with the GENESIS BLOCK during the financial crisis of 2009. No, its time is coming.”

https://twitter.com/namshik/status/1297730388798746626?s=20

Despite the size of the ad in the newspaper, it did not inform the users on how and where to procure Bitcoins. The only technical term that was mentioned throughout the ad was related to the genesis block. There were also a few mentions in Cantonese, with a major line saying “Banks, you’re not ditching me today – I’m ditching you.

This was not the first time that Apple Daily has made stirred up so much heat as its CEO Jimmy Lai also played a part in it a few weeks back. On August 10, Lai was arrest by the Hong Kong authorities for allegedly violating the country’s National Security Law. Lai’s arrest led to massive protests by supporters in the streets of Hong Kong, many of them condemning the curbing of the freedom of speech and expression. In the midst of all this controversy, Apple Daily’s stock price shot up by a whopping 1100 percent.

Crypto Firm OSL Receives In-Principle License Approval From Hong Kong’s watchdogs

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The Asian-based cryptocurrency firm, OSL Digital Securities, won the Hong Kong market regulator’s in-principle decision to issue an exchange platform license to operate its crypto-related business in the region.

With this crucial development, the Fidelity-backed BC group is now one step closer to operating as a regulated provider for brokerage and automated trading services, including security tokens. After the latest move, OSL asserted that it would continue to work under the SFC’s regime in a bid to secure a full-provider license in Hong Kong.

Commenting on the authorization, BC Group CEO Hugh Madden stated,

“Securing approval-in-principle for a virtual asset trading platform license in Hong Kong, inclusive of security tokens, underscores our commitment to comprehensively addressing the demands of institutional investors”

In response to growing anti-money-laundering [AML] and know-your-customer [KYC] concerns, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission expanded its regulatory oversight for cryptocurrency exchange treating them as traditional securities brokerages and allowed these platforms to opt into regulation under its new rules.

Essentially, the “in-principle” decision is the first step of the full authorization process in which the applicant platform is required to satisfy one or more requirements set by the Securities and Futures Commission [SFC] in order to obtain a license.

SFC had unveiled its new set of rules for the cryptocurrency exchanges in November last year. It details how the Platforms must address custody and compliance, in particular with regard to the KYC and AML rules. The published documents also state that exchanges can only offer products to “professional investors.” In addition, they will also be required to file a monthly report to the Commission.

The 61-paged document stated,

“The adoption of the new regulatory framework will enable the SFC to formulate its future
regulatory strategy for virtual assets through close supervisory interactions with an
evolving and dynamic industry.”

The exchanges will need the regulator’s approval for offering new products. Besides, SFC does not consider direct peer-to-peer platforms for licensing. Interestingly, OSL was the first and the only platform to apply for the license.

Bitcoin ATM ‘Loopholes’ Exploited in Hong Kong, Trio arrested

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Automated Teller Machines [ATMs] has acted as the backbone of the retail payments landscape for over fifty years. Acting as a physical access point, ATMs have now made its way to the digital age money space we now know it as the cryptocurrency industry. Over the years, Bitcoin ATMs have sprung up at a highly impressive rate. And with it, the crimes.

In the latest development, the Hong Kong authorities reportedly arrested three persons linked with the alleged siphoning off $226,000 in Hong Kong dollars from six Bitcoin ATMs in 11 transactions. The police suspected that the arrested individuals are the”core members” of a “larger syndicate”.

According to the South China Morning Post report, the three males arrested were between 26 and 55 years of age. The two platforms reportedly suspected foul play and exploitation of “loopholes” in the Bitcoin ATMs after noticing cash withdrawals. The authorities were able to arrest the trio two days after cryptocurrency exchanges had filed a report.This development was first of its kind in the Mong Kok region

Following the arrest, the Superintendent of Hong Kong’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau [CSTCB], Wilson Tam reportedly stated,

“I cannot reveal what the loopholes are. But any bitcoin transaction needs verification. Maybe the ring bypassed the verifying process before taking the money.”

Tam further revealed to have offered to the two cryptocurrency companies to upgrade their systems.

Consistent growth of Bitcoin ATMs

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According to the Bitcoin ATM tracking website Coin ATM Radar, there were a total of 9,106 Bitcoin ATMs in the world while 52 of them are in Hong Kong. Interestingly, since the start of the year, Bitcoin ATM installations have doubled.

Increasing criminal activities tied to Bitcoin ATMs

While the expansion of the Bitcoin ATM marketplace has been nothing short of remarkable, it is the soaring criminal activity leveraging this space that has become a cause of concern.

Across the Pacific, Bitcoin ATMs in the US sent more funds to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges than low-risk exchanges in 2019. This was found by a recent report by Cipher Trace, the percentage of funds from the US-based Bitcoin ATMs sent to this category of exchanges had grown exponentially.

According to the crypto-analytic firm, high-risk exchanges are classified as those which have a record of nefarious activities known for facilitating criminal activities and money laundering. And it was also found that as high as 8% of the US Bitcoin ATM payments are sent directly to high-risk exchanges.

Dismantle of Bitcoin ATM operation 

In another development, the U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ] last month revealed to have taken down a Bitcoin ATM operation worth $25 million. It also reportedly seized 17 machines along with some cryptocurrencies from a man who was not licensed for Bitcoin ATM operations.

The perpetrator, Kais Mohammad, further admitted laundering of millions of dollars of Bitcoins as well as cash

Hong Kong Hedge Funds Consider Pulling Out as Regulations Tighten

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Traders and fund administrators in China are panicking after the Chinese Communist Party has approved a decision to enforce national security laws intended to scare away foreign investors. Hong Kong hedge funds are exploring the possibility of shutting down their operations in the Asian financial hub.

Hong Kong is an important Asian spot whose main function is to generate investment income. Unfortunately, fund managers and traders are now worried that the sector might be the center of attention in China after the communist party approved the plan to deploy the national securities laws.

Notably, the securities laws are targeting what is known as “subversion of state power” or “interference” from foreign nations. However, if Hong Kong hedge funds were to withdraw operations, it would be at risk due to its renowned reputation as the world’s top target.

Besides, investors are scared of limitations to free internet access, social media freedom, acquisition of visas, and the capital control rates, said a top investment officer via FT.

Nonetheless, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive officer Carrie Lam, stated that people worried about the new law should wait for more information. She adds that the rules should not harm anyone as Hong Kong is a free society.

Singapore expected to overtake Hong Kong ‘s dominance of hedge funds?

As stated by FT, Hong Kong hedge funds command roughly $91 billion assets more significant than hedge funds in Australia, Singapore, and Japan combined.

Nevertheless, a third of US businesses in Hong Kong were contemplating moving them out. The business insider stated that analysts informed them that Singapore was expected to overhaul the city as operations start deviating from Hong Kong.

In conclusion, Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst in Asia – pacific said that if Hong Kong is initiating Chinese laws secretly then, it makes hedge funds feel insecure operating in Hong Kong. Furthermore, he stated that if businesses didn’t want to work under Chinese laws, they could move to Singapore.

Bitcoin’s First Index Fund in Hong Kong; A Move made for Institutional Capital Flow

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The institutional side of Bitcoin received another boost amidst the current global pandemic as according to reports, Hong Kong approved its first-ever Bitcoin index fund.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Arrano Capital, launched the nation’s first digital asset hedge fund, with a target size of $100 million for its first year, while officially allocating a window for Bitcoin’s accredited investors. Arrano is the blockchain investment division of Asset Management firm Venture Smart Asia Ltd.

Arrano Capital announced on Monday, 20 April, the release of its Bitcoin index fund. The announcement comes after receiving the green light from the Securities and Futures Commission earlier this month. The report stated,

“The SFC has previously granted licenses to crypto asset managers like Hong Kong’s Diginex, but those haven’t met the full criteria to run pure crypto funds that can be marketed to professional investors only.”

As mentioned above, the investment division was looking to meet a target of $100 million within its first year, and Avaneesh Acquilla, Chief Investment Officer of Arrano Capital stated they could potentially launch a 2nd product very soon. According to the CIO, the long-term target was to actively manage a fund accommodating a range of digital assets. He said,

“We decided to launch this fund to address market demand from professional investors who are increasingly focused on Bitcoin as an alternative store of value. Ultimately for Bitcoin to be widely accepted and for people to trust it, there needs to be regulation.”

An index fund is a type of fund that was initially coined and introduced by Jack Bogle. They proposed the idea of a portfolio to develop and match or track the components of a financial market index such as the S&P 500. Its operation and functionality vary from a traditional exchange-traded fund (ETF), that provides a stake in assets such as stocks or commodities.

Significance of Crypto index Fund in Hong Kong

The above announcement is an interesting piece of development because Hong Kong has not always been the most crypto-friendly nation. According to blockchain laws and regulations, It is only since 2018 that the SFC announced that it would gradually begin to formulate and regulate crypto exchanges in October 2018.

Although Hong Kong does not prohibit the possession or trading of Non-SF Virtual Assets, as Bitcoins and other crypto assets are considered virtual commodities and not electronic money, provided that cryptocurrencies are owned and traded in compliance with legal guidelines.

However, with the launch of its official crypto fund, it would certainly create an inflow of institutional capital into Bitcoin. Given that approval has gone through a period of major financial turbulence, it only highlights the pace at which bitcoin is growing in a particular Asian economic region.

 

Coinbase and Two US Giants Invest in Hong Kong Crypto Startup

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In recent years, we have seen a lot of buzz for the Crypto market in Asia. Reportedly, 80% of the total Crypto trading is done from Asia. As a result, investors are aiming to plunge into the Asian market for profit-making.

Top US Crypto investors, Pantera Capital, Polychain, Paradigm, Coinbase, and Fenbushi Capital made a piece of great news when they decided to jump to an opportunity to invest in Hong Kong Crypto trading company, Amber. Investors have made a big announcement that they would pour $28 million into Amber.

In 2015, 4 Morgan Stanley traders and 1 Bloomberg engineer decided to start an Artificial Intelligence startup to trade Chinese Stocks and securities. They name the company as Amber AI. 

In Summer 2017, they decided to divert their attention to Crypto trading when they found a huge arbitrage opportunity. Although their total profit was in single-digit million dollars, Amber made gains of 100% to 200% between October 2017 to December 2017. 

Surprisingly, in 2018, when BTC rate fell from $7800 to $3800 (Approximate figures), Amber made a huge profit of $50 million with 40% return rates. They eventually decided to stop their focus on Artificial Intelligence and removed that AI from their venture name.

Over the past few months, since Amber switched its total attention to Crypto trading, the firm has been offering services like providing loans, electronic market trading, financial management, OTC trading, etc. to all the institutional investors. 

As per one report, Amber generated revenue between $10 million to $20 million in 2019. Tiantian Kullander, the CFO of the Crypto startup, aims to double the revenue generation in 2020.

Amber with 105-employees in Hong Kong creates a lot of opportunities. Firstly, they are sitting native to the top Crypto giants namely the Binance of Singapore, Huobi of Beijing, Bitmex of Hong Kong. 

Secondly, unlike the US government, the Hong Kong government does not count Cryptocurrency as a security asset. As a result, Amber’s clients are can trade more than 700 coins on up to 30 Crypto exchanges as compared to 30 digital assets in the US.

For now, as per Kullander, the Coronavirus has created a downside in Asia. As a result, Amber’s current employees are working from home. Coordination and visiting clients have considerably reduced. 

Reportedly, this has not reduced the revenue of the startup. Kullander commented on the situation. He said,

“The beauty of Crypto trading is its 24*7 availability. You can sit at home and run your investment regime.”

Arjun Balaji, an investment partner at Paradigm, said that they were quite positive about investing in Amber. As per him, Amber has a good potential to earn good profits in the coming months. A world-class team combined with a sophisticated approach made them become a partner with the Hong Kong Crypto startup.

 

HSBC in the eye of the storm as bank decides to cancel protest-related accounts in Hong Kong

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The fundamental human right to protest has resulted in mass movements that have overthrown governments and changed the course of financial developments. One such protest was the recent example in Hong Kong, where millions of people took to the streets to oppose the bill that allowed the government to send its citizens to China for extradition. Now, one bank has come to the fore for cutting off access to protest funds and rebel resources.

HSBC, one of the world’s largest banking conglomerates, recently revealed that they would be canceling all accounts related to crowdfunding campaigns. The organization has stated that the decision was made because of a fund that accepted donations and used it for other purposes. HSBC has given the party a 30-day notice period, which it has to comply with.

The Hong Kong Journal, one of the most popular newspapers in the region, revealed that they found funds were being used inconsistently with its original documents and paperwork. Vin Tran, one of the spokespeople for HSBC Hong Kong, stated:

“As part of our responsibility to know our customers and safeguard the financial industry, we regularly review our customers’ accounts,. If we spot activity differing from the stated purpose of the account, or missing information, we will proactively review all activity, which can also result in account closure.”

HSBC is one of many companies that has had to go through the financial tornado, with citizens hoping against hope that a solution would come soon. 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, an organization that helps protestors with their legal and medical expenses, has currently stated that their holding HDC account is still fully functional.

Hong Kong has been a financially positive state for HSBC as the bank drew a surplus of 35 percent revenue from the region in the first nine months of business commencement. Some members of the cryptocurrency community have stated the decision will affect hundreds of other activists and that centralization is a real hindrance to freedom of speech and expression. Rhythm, a famous cryptocurrency proponent tweeted:

“BREAKING: HSBC just shut down bank accounts for Hong Kong anti-extradition bill events, as reported by the Hong Kong Economic Journal. I.E. closing accounts for protesting demonstrations. Bitcoin fixes this. This is why Bitcoin was created, for making the transactions they say you can’t make.”

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market conditions and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Hong Kong gets serious about crypto; country lists out new rules for crypto exchanges

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Many countries around the globe have changed their stance on cryptocurrencies in recent times, and most of it has been thanks to streamlined and better crypto regulations. The latest country to join the bandwagon is Hong Kong, with reports coming in that the native financial regulator publishing rules on November 6 that would allow cryptocurrency exchanges to receive an operating license.

This new decision was made to bring about improvements in the standards and regulations in the fintech space with the end goal of preventing fraudulent activities. Ashley Alder, chief executive of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, stated:

“After an in-depth examination of their unique technical and operational features, we concluded that some could be regulated by us.”

The latest update in the Hong Kong cryptocurrency space has met with divided sentiments, with some claiming that it is a landmark decision while some cryptocurrency exchanges have said that they prefer to operate under our own banners.

The new rules state that a cryptocurrency exchange that needs to be regulated and licensed must align with only professional investors. To ensure that the clients do not receive any legal ramifications later, the exchanges are also required to have inbuilt insurance policies with the added feature of using a mechanism that will track external markets.

Another caveat in the new regulation list is that exchanged need not necessarily have the SFC license if they are not dealing with any products that are defined as ‘securities.’ This opens doors for Bitcoin trade as the world’s largest cryptocurrency is not considered a security.

Currently, there are no regulations that will force exchanges to come under the SFC, and the new law is being considered to do the same.  Despite that, the SFC official’s comments were also hailed by Hugh Madden. The chief executive of BC Group who opined:

“Ashley Alder’s announcement of a regulatory framework for digital asset trading platforms is a seminal moment for financial services in Asia and points to increased acceptance of digital assets as new type of financial instruments.”

The position paper released by the SFC was titled the ‘Regulation of virtual asset trading platforms” and had rules and regulations that followed state guidelines as well as global guidelines. The body also wanted to assure organizations that come under the SFC’s wing did not mean that they were ceding control of the assets to the regulatory authorities. Clause number 6 stated:

“The SFC would also like to make clear that, even if the SFC licenses and supervises a virtual asset trading platform, the virtual assets traded on the platform are not subject to the authorisation or prospectus registration provisions that apply to traditional offerings of “securities” or “collective investment schemes”. There are no other mandatory disclosure requirements applicable to an offer of non-security virtual assets in Hong Kong.”

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market conditions and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Hong Kong Monetary Authority Confirms Banking Service Disruption – Will Crypto Fix This? 

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The top authority of Hong Kong, HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority), has confirmed that some banks suspended their banking services at specific branches. Looking at the worst monetary scenario in Hong Kong, the crypto community is recommending cryptocurrency as an alternative solution for people to access their own money at any time.

Hong Kong Citizens Hardly Have to Access to their Own Money

Countries like Hong Kong and India are on limelight due to the banking service interruption that citizens are currently experiencing. On Oct 5, 2019, HKMA released an official statement, entitling “Partial service disruption of bank branches,” briefing the reason as “vandalized facilities and traffic disruptions.” Although, the authority states that customers can access to ATM services or online banking, but it also didn’t assure the working status of these ATMs and banking services. The release reads that;

Bank customers are advised to use online banking or ATM services as far as possible and check bank branches’ service status before visiting. We appeal to a public understanding of service disruption of certain bank branches, which was necessitated by extraordinary circumstances.

Will Crypto Fix this?

Undeniably, it is one of the key reasons why the crypto community is pushing the decentralized nature of the financial system forward. As such, Anthony Pompliano, who is a bitcoin maximalist and often known as Bitcoin bull, took to Twitter and wrote about the most horrible scenario Hong Kong citizens are currently experiencing with their own money. He quickly said, “Bitcoin fixes this (issue)”;

Many crypto enthusiasts agreed his statement; in fact, few states, the situation might result in “ a lot of permanent Bitcoin converters.” However, a few other responses to his tweet looked vary as these respondents with their Twitter profile appear as the XRP community members. Consequently, they claim that Bitcoin is slower than XRP (notably), and henceforth believes, XRP fixes this.

Meantime, countries are considering the digital version of their fiat currencies, and some of those countries who’re already broke out the announcements are, China, United States, Germany, India, and unlike. How far the idea turned out to be a reality is still a matter of time as none of these countries still launched the digital version of fiat officially yet.

Furthermore, the HKMA hopes that the banks will resume “normal operations and serve their customers smoothly.” The announcement writes that;

Recent incidents of vandalism and arson attacks have seriously affected the use of banking services by the public, HKMA said in a statement. Any form of vandalism and violence should be condemned.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market conditions and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

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Hong Kong’s leading publication accepts Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as donation

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The leading non-profit online publication, Free Press is now accepting a donation in cryptocurrencies, specifically, Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash via a payment platform, BitPay.

At press time, two of the most significant cryptocurrencies are flourishing – while Bitcoin crossed $10300 figure with 2.67 percent mark within 24 hours, Bitcoin Cash is also trading higher at the number of 309 against US dollar.

Free Press Accepts Crypto Donation

Observers hint that the quick reason behind the current Bitcoin and BCH market prices’ stability might be Free Press’s acceptance of crypto as a donation. It is a non-profit online news website based in Hong Kong, founded by an independent journalist. According to the latest report, Free Press is now accepting donations in Bitcoin, and you can donate it via BitPay.

It was first revealed by a Redditor, who defines himself as the paper’s editor-in-chief;

“We’ve seen a flurry of donations today! Help us pay for freelancers, safety gear, overtime, insurance, etc,”

The post on Reddit received significant interest and support from the crypto community wherein few contributors also confirmed that they have already donated to the Free Press. At the time of reporting, the website has activated only “Donate Bitcoin” button but seems the platform experiencing an issue with BitPay payment method. Echoing the similar concern, chief-in-editor says they’ll fix the problem after the protests settle.

However, Bitcoin Cash donate option is yet to make live, but according to the Reddit post, Hong Kong Free Press is also accepting BCH as a donation.

The Hong Kong Free Press accepts Bitcoin Cash as a donation method. Let’s come together as a community to help those under tyrannical governments

This news comes in the wake of an ongoing politico-economy situation as the city of Hong Kong since March 31st is witnessing the pro-democracy protests. To be specific, the Anti-extradition bill protest, which is currently happening across HK is against an extradition bill proposed by China. Following the rally, there have been over 600 people arrested but the protesters/demonstrators putting forth their five demands;

  • Withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill
  • Resignation of the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam
  • Government recognition of the protests as protest and not riots
  • Independent scrutinization into the police
  • Release those who have been imprisoned due to protests

HKFP isn’t the first to raise funds via crypto in the form of donations; earlier famous WikiLeaks had also witnessed a large number of funds via Bitcoin Donation. In fact, it had received a boost in crypto donations following its leader Julian Assange’s arrest back in early 2019.

Disclaimer: The presented information is subjected to market condition and may include the very own opinion of the author. Please do your ‘very own’ market research before making any investment in cryptocurrencies. Neither the writer nor the publication (TronWeekly.com) holds any responsibility for your financial loss.

Never miss our daily cryptocurrency news, price analysis, tips, and stories. Join us on Telegram | Twitter or subscribe to our weekly Newsletter.