On 22 January 2024, a draft Decree implementing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, MiCAR) and the Transfer of Funds Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1113, TFR) was published for consultation (the Implementation Decree). Market parties are invited to respond to the draft Implementation Decree by 19 February 2024.
Regarding MiCAR, the
On 23 May 2023, the Securities and Futures Commission (the SFC) published its much anticipated consultation conclusions (the Consultation Conclusions) on the proposed regulatory requirements for virtual asset (VA) trading platform operators (Platform Operators). The new licensing regime for Platform Operators under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis have recently published the results of research showing that there has been a huge increase in the use of decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols to launder money over the last year. DeFi is an emerging financial technology based on secure distributed ledgers similar to those used by cryptocurrencies.
In 2021,
This blog series has been named after the classic children’s categorisation game where one player names an object and the other player has to categorise it as an animal, vegetable or mineral. Whilst simple in concept, the difficulty of the game varies – some things are extremely easy to categorise (such as ‘cat’), whereas others
This blog series has been named after the classic children’s categorisation game where one player names an object and the other player has to categorise it as an animal, vegetable or mineral. Whilst simple in concept, the difficulty of the game varies – some things are extremely easy to categorise (such as ‘cat’), whereas others
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently issued a consultation paper setting out its proposed regulatory approach for derivatives contracts that reference payment tokens as underlying assets (Payment Token Derivatives).
What is this approach meant to address?
A well-regulated market for derivatives – particularly one anchored by institutional investors with sophisticated
We have recently partnered with the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) on its new industry white paper titled, “Tokenised Securities – A Roadmap for Market Participants and Regulators.”
The report analyses how the new value chain will impact market participants, including incumbent financial institutions (FIs) and issuers, and looks at
At the Hong Kong Fintech week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Mr Ashley Alder, announced the rollout of a new regulatory framework for virtual asset trading platforms. The regulation of virtual asset trading platforms (and whether they should fall within the SFC’s regulatory oversight) has been a
On 4 October 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published the pro forma terms and conditions (the Terms and Conditions) applicable to licensed corporations managing a fund (or portion of a fund) that invests in virtual assets and meet the de minimis threshold [1] (Virtual Assets Fund Manager) .
Although the Bitcoin craze has recently fallen by the wayside, parties interested in digital and crypto-assets continue to press forward despite unclear regulations.