The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been making headlines over the last few weeks in the wake of its regulatory crackdown of the crypto industry. On Feb. 20, CoinShares reported that digital asset products saw outflows of $32 million last week, the largest outflow in 2023. Despite this, BTC has reached the $25,000 mark once again.
Meanwhile, India continues ramping up its central bank digital currency offering, as its national payment network, unified payments interface (UPI), broadens its service further east to Singapore. UPI will now be linked to a similar product that’s offered to Singaporeans, PayNow.
Singapore has again made crypto news today as Hong Kong moves forward with plans to allow retail investors to trade cryptocurrencies. It continues to compete with Singapore to be the premier digital asset hub in the East. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has called for public feedback on a licensing regime that’s set to come into effect in June this year. One aspect of the regime that is under public scrutiny is whether licensed exchanges should serve retail investors and consumer protection measures such as only allowing licensed exchanges to operate in Hong Kong. Cointelegraph also reported that Hong Kong’s regulatory plans have earned China’s support.