First Mover Asia: Hong Kong FinTech Chair Praises Crypto Friendly Policy Statement; Dogecoin Outshines Bitcoin, Ether

Neil Tan said that the statement by the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau acknowledged the importance of retail investors and would help clarify regulatory issues similar to other countries recent frameworks.

AccessTimeIconNov 1, 2022 at 12:43 a.m. UTC
Updated Nov 14, 2022 at 6:03 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:

Prices: Dogecoin continued to climb even as bitcoin and ether spent the day in the red.

Insights: The chairman of Hong Kong's FinTech Association praises the government's new crypto policy statement.

1,026.52 −4.2 0.4
$20,478 −169.3 0.8
$1,573 −21.3 1.3
S&P 500 daily close
3,871.98 −29.1 0.7
Gold
$1,635 −4.4 0.3
Treasury Yield 10 Years
4.08 0.1
BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices; gold is COMEX spot price. Prices as of about 4 p.m. ET

Prices

DOGE Continues Its Late October Surge

By James Rubin

The DOGE days of October continued as the popular meme coin outshone bitcoin, ether and a number of other major cryptocurrencies in Monday trading.

Dogecoin was recently up more than 1% over the past 24 hours to continue its late-month surge, and was recently trading at about 12 cents. DOGE, which was created to mock the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies, spiked late last week as billionaire entrepreneur and DOGE advocate Elon Musk neared the completion of his $44 billion purchase of Twitter. Over the past four days Musk has asserted his control over the social media platform. On Monday, he ousted Twitter’s nine-person board.

As CoinDesk analyst Glenn Williams wrote, DOGE’s price fluctuations seem to stem from the power of Musk’s personality and a passionate dogecoin community than the macroeconomic indicators that have been influencing bitcoin, ether and other cryptos over the past 12 months. DOGE’s rise may correlate with excessive liquidations and a likely short squeeze, and the token may offer a shorting opportunity, Williams wrote.

Bitcoin (BTC) spent Monday in the red and was recently down about 0.8% from Sunday, same time, although the largest cryptocurrency by market value remained comfortably over the $20,000 perch it assumed last week. Ether was down similarly over the same period and was changing hands above the $1,500 level that the second-largest crypto assumed a week ago.

"Some traders are growing confident that a bottom is in place, options market activity is showing the need for downside protection is easing," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst for foreign exchange market maker Oanda. "This will be a pivotal last two months of the year that should trigger a move outside of the $17,500 and $25,000 trading range."

The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), a broad-based market index that measures the performance of a basket of cryptocurrencies, recently rose 0.4% over the past 24 hours.

In traditional markets, the tech-heavy Nasdaq, Standard & Poor’s 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) all closed lower, although the indexes enjoyed a strong month amid faint hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve will ratchet back its hawkish monetary policy early next year. Investors will be eyeing the latest Federal Open Market Committee interest rate hike, which is widely expected to be a robust 75 basis points.

Biggest Gainers

Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector
Avalanche AVAX +4.8% Smart Contract Platform
Cosmos ATOM +2.4% Smart Contract Platform
Shiba Inu SHIB +1.9% Currency

Biggest Losers

Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector
Terra LUNA −1.8% Smart Contract Platform
Loopring LRC −1.8% Smart Contract Platform
Solana SOL −1.6% Smart Contract Platform

Insights

By James Rubin

Hong Kong's Fintech Association chairman offered a rousing endorsement of a policy statement suggesting that retail investors would have more access to digital assets and seemed to point the city in a more crypto friendly direction.

"Now Hong Kong is back inside of the game, Neil Tan, who is also CEO of the blockchain startup Neptune Digital, told The Daily Forkast in an interview. "And that retail piece does play a huge piece. If you look at the exchanges and market capitalizations, a lot of it drives from the retail side."

In the policy statement released Monday at Hong Kong FinTech Week, the government's main financial agency, the Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB), indicated it would conduct a public consultation on how retail investors might attain a “suitable degree of access to virtual assets" to licensed exchanges. The FSTB said it was reconsidering its stance on virtual asset exchange traded funds (ETF) and tokenized securities, and that it was “ready to engage” with global virtual asset service providers and invite them to the city.

Earlier this year, as part of a move to tighten anti-money laundering regulations, the Hong Kong government moved to license virtual asset service providers (VASP) via a legislative proposal that passed its consultation period. The city's main securities regulatory group, Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), would be provided with "necessary intervention powers" to impose restrictions or even prohibitions on companies providing crypto services.

Institutional interest

Tan also noted the desire for more institutions "to have more coverage into digital assets," and he praised the timing of the policy statement's release.

"You're introducing it inside the winter, so there's little risk in terms of downside," he said. "There's a lot more upside. Everybody else has shown their cards such as Dubai and also Singapore in terms of what the regulatory framework will look like in these jurisdictions."

He added: "Hong Kong is in a strong position. We want to build a championship team. We want to to go to the NBA final and win a championship."

Important events

5:45 a.m. HKT/SGT(21:45 UTC) New Zealand Employment Changes (Q3)

CoinDesk TV

In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV:

Bitcoin held above $20,500 as the crypto community observes the fourteenth birthday of the cryptocurrency's white paper. But it's dogecoin that's jumping with excitement as it reached a market cap of over $10 billion over the past week. John Peurifoy of Floating Point Group joined "First Mover" to discuss the crypto markets. Plus, "First Mover" went into the debate between Sam Bankman-Fried and Erik Voorhees over crypto regulation.

Headlines

Crypto-Linked Terror Attacks Probably Quadrupled, UN Official Says, According To a United Nations Official Interviewed By Bloomberg: As many as 20% of terror attacks may be financed by crypto, up from 5% a few years ago, said Svetlana Martynova.

Bitcoin White Paper Celebrates 14th Birthday: A technical manifesto, the Bitcoin white paper was released 14 years ago today under an MIT public license for all to learn from, share and enjoy.

Bitcoin Miner Argo's $27M Fundraise Falls Through; Shares Plunge: The bitcoin mining industry is battling soaring energy prices coupled with the stagnated value of cryptocurrencies.

Ether Sees Biggest Weekly Gain in 3 Months, ETH-BTC Rally to Continue: Ether rallied 16% last week, registering its biggest weekly gain since July. The recent positive change in ether's tokenomics are helping the cryptocurrency outperform industry leader bitcoin.

After Huobi Delisting Stablecoin HUSD Falls 72% From Dollar Peg: Huobi has said it will assist customers in exchanging HUSD for USDT.

India's Central Bank to Start Wholesale CBDC Pilot Nov. 1: A pilot for a retail version will start within a month.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

James Rubin

James Rubin was CoinDesk's U.S. news editor based on the West Coast.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.