- Bitcoin is in the green with a 3.86% gain, XRP/USD is up 11% while Ethereum (ETH) is recording 9% rise on the day.
- SFC has no intensions of introducing a ban on digital assets like their neighboring territory, Chinese mainland.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong has announced its intentions to formulate cryptocurrency regulations in its jurisdiction. The chairman of the regulatory authority mentioned while speaking to the Hong Kong English-language newspaper called the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Monday, October 15, 2018.
The current chair Carlson Tong Ka-shing is expected to hand over the authority’s leadership to Tim Lui Tim-lueng come October 19. In the interview, Carlson said that the SFC has no intensions of introducing a ban on digital assets like their neighboring territory, Chinese mainland. He emphasized that a ban in this era is not “necessarily the right approach.”
“It will not work in today’s internet world when trading can cross national boundaries. Even if we were to ban them, transactions can still be easily conducted via platforms in overseas markets,” the chairman explained further.
According to the chairman, a regulation framework is needed in the rapidly growing industry. However, the SFC will approach the entire matter carefully being aware that digital platforms are “new technologies” and therefore does not necessarily mean that they should be treated as securities. The chairman said that in spite of them not falling under its mandate:
“We need to see if and how these platforms can be regulated to a standard that is comparable to that of a licensed trading venue, while at the same time ensuring investors interest are being protected.”
The SMCP reports that the move has been received well by those exchanges based in Hong-Kong. The COO of BitMEX, Angelina Kwan told the newspaper that crypto regulations are going to boost development in the industry. Moreover, the CEO of Circle, Jeremy Allaire reckoned that his firm is going to be working proactively with the government on these regulations.
Cryptocurrency market update
The bulls in the market are back with a bang and this time they are unstoppable. The declines at the end of last week saw the market sink $16 billion in a day. Many assets lost more than 10% of their value. However, the trading over the weekend consolidated the gains leading to a spike in the Asian trading hours. At press time the market has added $8 billion from to the current $210 billion. Besides, the majority of cryptocurrencies led by the darling of them all in terms of price performance Ripple (XRP) have recovered escaping the bear range. XRP/USD is up 11% while Ethereum (ETH) is recording a 9% rise on the day. Bitcoin (BTC) is also in the green with a 3.86% rise. The trend is reflected across the entire crypto market.
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