Hong Kong Monetary Authority Set to Launch Second Tokenized Green Bond in Coming Months

🇭🇰 The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is gearing up to introduce its second tokenized green bond, expected to be unveiled within the next few months. The government authority aims to leverage blockchain technology for increased efficiency and transparency in the redemption process, according to a report from Chinese newspaper Ming Pao.

🔴 Per the report, HKMA Chief Executive Yu Weiman disclosed plans for the upcoming “Green Finance Week” in February 2024.

🔴 The event aims to facilitate discussions on green financial transformation, with a primary focus on organizing a global climate business forum in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation under the World Bank.

🎁 Weiman emphasized the intention to strengthen Hong Kong’s green brand on a global scale during Green Finance Week. Multiple financial institutions are set to host green finance activities, with the objective of enhancing Hong Kong’s reputation in the field.

Binance Withdraws Application for Abu Dhabi License, Reassessing Compliance Needs

🔶 Binance has officially withdrawn its application for a financial license in Abu Dhabi, according to Reuters. This move is indicative of the exchange’s ongoing reassessment of its global operations and licensing requirements.

🟡 The application, submitted by BV Investment Management, a Binance unit, aimed to manage collective investment funds as per the details on the regulator’s website. According to a spokesperson for Binance, the move to retract the application was a strategic decision to align with the company’s reassessed compliance needs.

🟡“When assessing our global licensing needs, we decided this application was not necessary,” said the spokesperson.

🔶 This application, filed a year ago and officially retracted on November 7th, signals a potential shift in Binance’s operational focus and global strategy. Despite the timing, the decision to pull the license application was “unrelated” to the U.S. settlement, according to the spokesperson.

NFT Game ‘Champions Ascension’ Teams Up with Amazon Prime for Exclusive Rewards

💎 Champions Ascension, an action-packed combat-oriented role-playing game, has joined forces with Amazon Prime to provide exclusive in-game rewards for subscribers.

🟩 Starting from Friday, Amazon Prime Gaming is offering its members a chance to claim 100 in-game gold and a loot box containing monster parts, which can be used to craft a monster for the upcoming Maestro Towers mode.

❎ Although Champions Ascension revolves around non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and features characters initially minted on Ethereum but later migrated to the Polygon scaling network, the items available through the Amazon Prime giveaway are not tokenized NFTs.

💎 Instead, they are purely digital in-game items that cannot be traded.

Senator Warren’s Bipartisan Push to Combat Crypto Money Laundering Gains Momentum

🧬 Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has announced an increase in support for the bipartisan Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, which aims to tackle concerns around the use of crypto in illegal activities such as money laundering and drug trafficking.

💸 The legislation has gained backing from five additional senators, including Senators Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), all members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

💸 The proposed bill aims to reduce risks that Warren claims are associated with crypto by “closing loopholes” and “bringing the digital asset ecosystem into greater compliance” with established anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.

🆒 In her latest announcement, Senator Warren stressed the urgency of this legislation, citing the Treasury Department’s apprehensions about the role of crypto in facilitating various illicit activities.

Yearn.finance Ask Traders to Return Gains Following $1.4 Million Multisig Error- What’s Going On?

🌐 In a Dec 11 GitHub post, the protocol’s contributor, “dudeshan” disclosed that during a fee token conversion, the multi-signature mishap caused the company’s treasure balance of 3,794,894 lp-yCRVv2 tokens to be swapped.

🔗 Although it was revealed that the tokens swapped solely affect the protocol’s treasury without users, the revelation sparked diverse reactions amid the recent attack on bridges on other forms of cryptocurrency platforms incidents.

🔗 “This amount was strictly protocol-owned liquidity (POL) belonging to Yearn’s treasury and does not contain any user funds. This amount comprised a large portion of the Curve pool, and therefore incurred significant slippage which arbed back to the normal price by the market shortly after.”

💬 The platform’s liquidity pool plummeted 62% relative to the spot price after it suffered massive slippage following a receipt of 779,958 DAI yVauly tokens.

Bitcoin Volatility Incoming as BTC Price Forms This Key Technical Pattern – $38K or $48K Next?


🪙 Bitcoin (BTC) chart analysis suggests the price has formed a key short-term technical pattern that could be a harbinger of extreme volatility ahead, with quick dump to $38,000 or pump towards $48,000 possible depending on how the pattern is broken.

🟡 Amid its consolidating back from the year-to-date highs near $45,000 it hit earlier this month, the BTC price has formed a pennant structure, characterized by the price being gradually squeezed by higher lows and lower highs.

🟡 These patterns often form in periods of market consolidation (like we have seen over the course of the past week) and usually proceed a meaningful breakout to the upside of downside.

🔶 If BTC was to break its pennant structure to the downside, which would also mark a break below its 21DMA, a quick test of the $40,000 level would be very likely due to technical selling.

Binance Crackdown Unleashes Unprecedented Scrutiny on Crypto Transactions

🌍 The recent crackdown on Binance by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has triggered a seismic shift in how the crypto industry operates, with Binance now set to undergo what experts call an “unprecedented” level of scrutiny.

🍾 The government scrutiny, which Binance has agreed to in its settlement deal with the US government, will transform the exchange from “a haven for anarchic crypto commerce” to a meticulously monitored entity, Wired wrote in a report from earlier this month.

🔵 The settlement, considered one of the most substantial money-laundering settlements in the history of the US Justice Department, imposed a record-breaking $4.3 billion fine on the company.

China’s Ministry of Industry Aims to Foster NFT and Dapp Growth Despite Crypto Ban

🇨🇳 China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published a document outlining its current and future work on developing Web3 and related technologies, including metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decentralized apps (dapps).

🔴 The document is a response to a proposal by Wu Jiezhuang, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The Ministry examined Wu’s ‘Proposal on Promoting the Development of Web3 Industry,’ along with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Association for Science and Technology.

🔴 They concluded that Wu’s suggestions align with the Ministry’s direction, as the latter “attaches great importance” to the Web3 industry development. In particular, the Ministry acknowledged China’s advantages in developing Web3, including proper industrial foundation and broad development space.

🎁 Firstly, the Ministry and the Cyberspace Administration of China have issued a series of policies, including the Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Application of Blockchain Technology and Industrial Development.

El Salvador Passes Law to Offer Citizenship to Foreign Bitcoin Investors

👏 El Salvador‘s Congress has passed a new law enabling foreign citizens to obtain citizenship by investing in Bitcoin, according to Reuters.

🟡 On Dec. 21, the Salvadoran unicameral legislature, dominated by President Nayib Bukele‘s New Ideas party, voted in favor of the new citizenship law. Conducted during a late-night session, the vote garnered significant support, paving the way for the swift enactment of the policy.

🟡 The newly approved law grants expedited citizenship to foreign investors who make Bitcoin “donations” towards El Salvador’s social and economic development programs. This approach is part of a broader strategy to attract foreign investment and bolster the nation’s economy. The law notably omits a minimum donation requirement, making it accessible to a wide range of investors.

💲 Furthermore, the law simplifies the naturalization process for non-Spanish-speaking investors, waiving the typical five-year residency requirement. Instead, individuals who invest in Bitcoin can gain citizenship more rapidly, a move that aligns with El Salvador’s pioneering adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021.

Crypto Expert Chosen by Erdogan for Turkey’s Central Bank Board

🇹🇷 Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has appointed professor Fatma Ozkul, an expert in crypto assets and blockchain technology, to the central bank’s rate-setting committee. According to a recent report from Bloomberg, the nomination of Ozkul was announced in a decree on December 22.

🔴 Since 2012, Ozkul has been a lecturer at Istanbul’s Marmara University, with a focus on accounting, finance, and auditing. Her expertise extends to blockchain technology and digital assets, and she even authored a book on crypto asset accounting in 2022, as stated in her university profile.

🔴 Ozkul is now the latest addition to Turkey’s central bank Monetary Policy Committee, whose primary responsibility is to set the benchmark interest rate to control inflation. On December 21, the committee raised the country’s interest rate by 2.5 percentage points to 42.5% as a response to Turkey’s inflation rate surpassing 61.98% in November.

💀 After winning Turkey’s general election in May, Erdoğan reportedly formed a new economic team, appointing former Goldman Sachs banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as the governor of the central bank. In 2022, the central bank successfully conducted the initial test of its own digital currency, the Digital Turkish Lira.

US-Approved Spot Bitcoin ETFs Could Surpass Entire $50 Billion Crypto ETP Market: BitMEX

📲 The global market for cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs) has reached a significant milestone, currently comprising approximately 150 products with a total value of $50.3 billion in assets under management, as reported by BitMEX research.

⚡️ According to the research, the potential approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States may significantly impact the crypto ETF market. This substantial market includes both spot and futures funds, primarily tracking the performance of leading cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

⚡️ The dominance of Bitcoin within the crypto ETP space is evident, with the total value of Bitcoin ETFs alone standing at an impressive $35.4 billion. Notable products contributing to this figure include the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), with assets totaling $27,077.4 million, and the Proshares Bitcoin Strat ETF (BITO), with $1,645.3 million in assets.

😯 Beyond Bitcoin, the report provides insights into the diverse landscape of cryptocurrency ETPs. Ethereum, for instance, contributes significantly with a subtotal of $8,824.5 million, prominently featuring the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) with $6,861.8 million in assets.

Hong Kong to Become the Next Crypto ETF Hub as BTC ETF Anticipation Continues in US

🇭🇰 Hong Kong is poised to become a leading hub for cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs), particularly spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, as anticipation grows for the approval of such ETFs in the United States.

🔴 Industry leaders believe that Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which has shown a positive stance towards digital assets, sets a favorable stage for the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

🔴 Yat Siu, chairman of web3 investor Animoca Brands, said the SFC is open to widening access to digital assets, claiming that a spot Bitcoin ETF would be relatively uncontroversial.

💀 Siu also noted that Hong Kong could take reference from the extensive public filings and applications related to ETFs in the United States, which has made significant progress in this area.

Crypto Miners’ Bitcoin Reserves Hit Lowest Level Since May Amidst Increased Selling Pressure

🪙 Bitcoin miner reserves have reached their lowest point since May, signaling increased selling pressure as the largest cryptocurrency records a December gain of more than 13%.

🟡 Data from CryptoQuant indicates that Bitcoin miners’ reserves have been steadily decreasing since the beginning of December. In the past 24 hours alone, miners reportedly sold around 3,000 bitcoins, bringing their total holdings to approximately 1,834,447 BTC.

🟡 On December 28, the net flow of Bitcoin stood at minus 1,524 BTC, indicating that withdrawals exceeded the new coins minted. This ongoing trend raises questions about potential selling activities by miners and their impact on the overall market dynamics.

🔶 The decline in miner reserves started in late October and has accelerated this month, reaching 1.832 million BTC from October’s high of 1.845 million. In the last 24 hours alone, miners reportedly sold approximately $129 million worth of BTC at the current trading price of $42,891.

China Raises Alarm Over Corrupt Officials Exploiting Cold Storage Cryptocurrency for Illicit Cross-Border Transactions

🇨🇳 Official Chinese media sources have raised concerns regarding the exploitation of cryptocurrencies by corrupt officials for illicit activities. The use of cold storage methods for cryptocurrencies, in particular, has become a cause for alarm as it allows these individuals to discreetly transfer assets out of the country.

🔴 Cold storage refers to the practice of keeping cryptocurrency addresses and private keys offline, typically on hard drives or network disks, to reduce the risk of online theft and hacking. The development highlights the broader challenge faced by governments worldwide in regulating and monitoring the use of digital currencies.

🔴 Cryptocurrencies, known for their decentralized and anonymous nature, can be susceptible to abuse for unlawful activities such as money laundering and illegal fund transfers.

📲 The use of cold storage by corrupt officials is particularly troubling as it enables the covert movement of significant sums without the usual oversight associated with traditional financial transactions. This method of transferring cryptocurrencies out of the country for transactions and redemption makes it difficult for authorities to trace and recover these assets.