Hong Kong and Singapore compete for the title of the first financial center of Asia and the first center for digital assets of the region, while the election of a Donald Trump favorable to cryptocurrencies inaugurated a new era for the sector.
After defining digital assets a scam during his first term, the President of the United States changed tone during his election campaign – partly financed by this sector – declaring his intention to make the United States “the world capital of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies “. As a sign of renewed enthusiasm, Bitcoin exceeded the record of 110,000 dollars (105,000 euros) on January 20, a few hours before Trump’s settlement.
This change of course will also have an impact on Hong Kong and Singapore, two relatively mature jurisdictions for cryptocurrencies in Asia, where the regulatory authorities are trying to attract the centralized exchange platforms (CEX) while guaranteeing adequate protection of retail investors.
The Hong Kong regulatory authority, the SFC, reiterated last Wednesday that the Chinese special administrative region (RAS) must benefit from the “global liquidity”. He presented a complete road table of 12 initiatives aimed at promoting growth by improving access to the market, strengthening regulatory protections and expanding the range of digital asset products available.
This will allow authorized platforms to offer more risky investment strategies, such as derivatives and loans on the sidelines. “The watchword is always liquidity,” said Eric Yip, executive director of the SFC, during a conference held within the Consensus Fiera of Hong Kong. At the beginning of the day, the CEO of the financial regulation authority, Julia Leung, had declared that “compared to other centers, we are actually very concentrated on operations, liquidity and protection”.