opinions

According to hket, Hong Kong's Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Chen Haolian, stated that the authorities will submit legislative proposals to the Legislative Council within the year regarding the provision of virtual asset services and management, promoting the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory system covering trading, custody, advisory, and asset management, and implementing a mandatory licensing arrangement.The new framework will be advanced according to the principle of "same business, same risk, same rules," aligning with the current regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, and will focus on strengthening private key management and client asset security requirements in virtual asset custody.The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission stated that the current applications for licenses related to virtual assets continue to increase, but licensing will adhere to the principle of "quality over quantity," balancing market capacity and quality.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is seeking feedback on specific regulatory activities for digital assets under its cryptocurrency roadmap.This consultation covers how activities such as stablecoin issuance, trading platforms, custody, and staking will fall under regulatory oversight. The consultation will close on June 3, 2026, and cryptocurrency businesses can apply for FCA authorization starting September 30, 2026. The FCA stated that the consultation on the rules for the future cryptocurrency asset regime is largely complete, and a policy statement will be released this summer. Before the new legislative regime is implemented in 2027, cryptocurrency assets remain largely unregulated in the UK, except for financial promotions and financial crime purposes.

According to The Block, Michael Selig, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, stated that when assessing which prediction market contracts are susceptible to manipulation, the agency will "largely respect the opinions of various sports leagues."Previously, the National Football League (NFL) sent letters to prediction market platforms such as Kalshi and Polymarket, requesting them to stop offering contracts on single game outcomes, drafts, injuries, and other easily manipulated or predetermined contracts, believing that such contracts could incite manipulative behavior.On the legislative front, bipartisan lawmakers have proposed bills aimed at prohibiting federally regulated prediction markets from launching sports-related contracts, and several states have challenged the legality of such platforms through legal means. Meanwhile, Major League Baseball has chosen a collaborative approach, reaching an agreement with Polymarket and signing an information-sharing agreement.

According to a report by WSJ cited by Jinshi, U.S. President Trump plans to appoint several business giants to a technology committee, including Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. These members will provide opinions on artificial intelligence policies and other topics.According to White House officials, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will be co-chaired by the White House's AI and cryptocurrency advisor Sax and technology advisor Michael Kratsios.Officials stated that Trump plans to appoint the first 13 members from the industry on Wednesday, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin. According to an executive order, the committee could ultimately include 24 members.

According to Jinshi News, against the backdrop of widespread market expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, a Federal Reserve policymaker predicts that there will be an interest rate hike next year. This view belongs to a minority, as most decision-makers still believe there will be a rate cut this year. With oil prices rising sharply, discussions in the market about interest rates increasing next year may intensify. Currently, among the 19 policymakers at the Federal Reserve, 7 believe that interest rates will remain unchanged by the end of the year, 7 believe a 0.25 percentage point cut is necessary, and 5 believe that at least two rate cuts are needed.

According to The Block, the Kenyan National Treasury released the draft of the "2026 Virtual Asset Service Provider Regulations" this Wednesday and opened a public consultation, with a deadline of April 10.The draft is based on the "Virtual Asset Service Provider Act" that came into effect on November 4, 2025, and was drafted by a multi-agency working group involving the Central Bank of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority.

The Ministry of Public Security has announced that it has drafted the "Cyber Crime Prevention Law (Draft for Comments)" and is now publicly soliciting opinions from society, with the deadline for feedback set for March 2, 2026. The content includes: no individual or organization shall knowingly harbor, transfer, acquire, sell on behalf of others, or conceal or disguise funds, data, or virtual property obtained from others' online illegal activities.No individual or organization shall knowingly use funds obtained from others' illegal activities to provide capital flow services using virtual currency or other online virtual property for others.

According to market news, the Financial Services Agency of Japan has opened a public consultation on the draft implementation guidelines involving cryptocurrencies, electronic payment tools, and financial institutions. The draft clarifies the specific execution requirements following the amendment of the Payment Services Act in 2025, including updates to official announcements, administrative guidelines, and regulatory rules.The draft covers multiple areas, including the designation of newly added bonds as supporting assets, the regulatory framework for electronic payment tools and cryptocurrency-related intermediary services, as well as updated regulatory guidelines for financial institutions and their subsidiaries. This consultation will end on February 27, 2026, after which the regulations will come into effect following the completion of necessary procedures, and the results of the consultation will be announced separately.It is reported that the Financial Services Agency of Japan is planning a comprehensive adjustment of the regulatory framework, aiming to launch the country's first spot cryptocurrency ETFs by 2028. The roadmap includes reclassifying cryptocurrencies as "specific assets" under the Investment Trust Act, promoting a reduction of the cryptocurrency capital gains tax from a maximum of 55% to a uniform 20%, and allowing time to strengthen custody and investor protection standards.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has entered the final stage of its regulatory consultation for cryptocurrency companies and is seeking feedback on how its consumer duty rules apply to crypto asset firms, with a deadline of March 12. The FCA plans to open the application process for crypto asset licenses in September 2026.Consumer duty is a regulation from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aimed at setting high standards for how financial firms treat retail customers. The regulation requires firms to act with integrity, avoid causing foreseeable harm, and help people achieve their financial goals. Companies must provide clear information, fair pricing, and support throughout the entire customer journey (not just at the point of transaction).

According to DL News, a proposal requiring the Optimism Foundation to use 50% of its Superchain network revenue each month to buy back OP governance tokens has opened for voting on Thursday. There are divisions within the DAO community regarding this. Opponents argue that using hard assets for buybacks is an inefficient use of capital, especially when the foundation still needs to net sell OP through grants and other means. Another major point of contention is that the buyback will be executed through over-the-counter transactions, which will not directly affect the public market price, and some representatives are concerned it may become a channel for insiders to unlock tokens.Supporters, on the other hand, believe that the buyback mechanism can clearly convey the value of network growth to the market and is the "right direction." As of now, the voting shows overwhelming support, with over 3.8 million votes in favor and about 19,000 votes against. Voting will end on January 28.

Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jietzhuang posted on the X platform, stating, "I am pleased to see that the Hong Kong SAR Government's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau has new developments in promoting digital asset trading. The SAR Government has officially launched a consultation on legislative proposals for digital asset trading and custody services, which represents a further clarification of the relevant digital asset regulatory activities and responds to the needs and ideas of the market.The Hong Kong SAR Government has received numerous opinions in the past when consulting the industry about the direction of related over-the-counter trading and custody services. This legislative proposal not only establishes the legitimacy of over-the-counter trading and custody services for cryptocurrencies and digital assets, allowing the industry to operate in a more compliant manner; on the other hand, it can also combat suspected fraudulent activities that use related activities as a guise, helping citizens avoid losses. I encourage the industry to express more opinions within this month to improve the development and policies of Hong Kong's Web3."

On December 17, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce issued a statement, in conjunction with the latest release of a set of FAQs by the Division of Trading and Markets, seeking broad input from the market on issues related to trading cryptocurrency assets on the National Securities Exchange (NSE) and Alternative Trading Systems (ATS).The statement focuses on the trading and clearing arrangements for cryptocurrency asset securities and "securities - non-securities cryptocurrency asset" trading pairs. Peirce noted that SEC staff are prepared to work with market participants to facilitate compliant trading of trading pairs on regulated platforms.Peirce pointed out that the current market urgently needs clearer market structure rules to protect investors and maintain market order while avoiding unnecessary regulatory burdens on innovation. She specifically highlighted whether Regulation ATS (introduced in 1998) and Regulation NMS have become outdated in the context of cryptocurrency assets and blockchain technology. The core issues for public comment include:How to lower the entry barriers for cryptocurrency asset securities and trading pair platforms to encourage innovationWhether the current Reg NMS and Reg ATS impose disproportionate compliance costs on cryptocurrency tradingWhether there is a need to establish a dedicated Form ATS for "crypto ATS" or adjust existing disclosure requirementsWhether the information disclosure for crypto ATS should remain non-public or introduce SEC review or public mechanismsIn the context of blockchain and on-chain data traceability, whether it is necessary to retain the Form ATS-R quarterly filing requirementWhether there is a need to clarify compliance methods for converting non-U.S. dollar assets to U.S. dollarsHow to handle requirements for confidentiality of trading information, system risk controls (Rule 15c3-5), and system compliance (Reg SCI)How to avoid hindering individuals from developing software and using automated or decentralized methods for trading in regulationPeirce emphasized that these questions will serve as important references for the SEC's cryptocurrency working group's subsequent policy formulation, and the regulatory agency is also willing to hear broader suggestions to improve the regulatory framework for NSE and ATS as a whole. The statement is seen by the market as another signal of the SEC's relatively open attitude towards reforming the market structure for cryptocurrency asset trading.

The White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated that if he were chosen to lead the Federal Reserve, he would consider President Trump's policy opinions, but the Fed's interest rate decisions would remain independent.Kevin Hassett said on CBS's "Face the Nation" last Sunday that the President has very strong and well-founded views on the Fed's actions. However, he added that the Fed's responsibility is to maintain its independence and work collectively with board members and FOMC colleagues to reach a consensus on interest rate levels.Kevin Hassett was responding to questions about Trump's comments from last Friday. Trump had stated at that time that he should be able to suggest rates set by the Federal Reserve. For months, Trump and his senior advisors have been pressuring Fed Chair Powell to cut rates while also weighing candidates to succeed Powell.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, based on the standard formulation and revision plan, relevant standardization technical organizations have completed the preparation of 11 recommended national standards, including the electronic industry "Information Technology - Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology - Guidelines for Logistics Tracking Service Applications." In order to further gather opinions from all sectors of society, it is now publicized.

The chair of the Celo Foundation, Rene, announced that the CELO token economic model will be upgraded, considering the introduction of a token buyback and burn mechanism to improve the long-term economic structure. He stated that as network activity grows, the existing model needs to be redesigned to better accommodate the increasing demand for transaction fees.The upgrade process will be carried out in four phases: first, public feedback will be solicited on the Celo forum; in the following weeks, researchers, token economists, and ecosystem contributors will be invited to participate; next, research modeling will be conducted; the third phase will involve community review; and finally, completion will occur through governance procedures. The entire process will be conducted in a fast-tracked, transparent, and community-driven manner, led by the Celo Foundation and cLabs.

The latest summary of opinions from the Bank of Japan's policy meeting indicates that the next interest rate hike could be implemented as early as December, which aligns with the expectations of many market participants. At the two-day policy meeting that ended on October 30, the Bank of Japan's committee decided to maintain the current interest rate with a vote of 7 to 2.The meeting minutes show that one committee member pointed out that "the conditions for further normalizing the policy interest rate are likely to be fundamentally in place," while emphasizing the need to examine potential inflation trends. These minutes suggest that the nine-member committee of the Bank of Japan is increasingly inclined to believe that the timing for the next interest rate hike is approaching, consistent with Governor Ueda's recent statements about "potential actions in the coming months."As almost all market observers expect the bank to raise borrowing costs by January at the latest, attention has shifted to whether the timing of the rate hike will fall on December 19 or in January of the following year. (Jin Shi)

According to Cointelegraph, a New York jury failed to reach a consensus in the case of brothers Anton Peraire-Bueno and James Peraire-Bueno, leading U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke to declare a mistrial. The MIT graduates were charged with fraud and money laundering related to a 2023 Ethereum blockchain vulnerability that resulted in the theft of $25 million in digital assets.It is alleged that the brothers used an MEV bot to "trick" users into making trades. Although they orchestrated this scheme for months, it was reported that they made a profit of $25 million in just 12 seconds.

ChainCatcher news, according to Jinshi reports, the market is reassessing the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December. Nomura Securities expects the Federal Reserve to keep rates unchanged in December and predicts three rate cuts in 2026, each by 25 basis points. Federal Reserve Chair candidate Reed stated that Powell is more hawkish than expected, increasing the likelihood of a rate cut in December. Morgan Stanley's Jim Caron believes that a slowdown in the labor market may provide justification for a rate cut in December. State Street Global Advisors still expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates in December, while Bespoke Investment Group believes the meeting will be hawkish. John Velis from BNY Mellon pointed out that the lack of data will make predicting the Federal Reserve's movements difficult.

ChainCatcher news, according to a report by Every Day Network, aims to promote and standardize the application of electronic documents, improve the digital level of goods trade and transportation, reduce logistics costs for the entire society, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in electronic document activities, and maintain national security and public interests.According to relevant laws and regulations, the National Internet Information Office, in conjunction with relevant departments, has drafted the "Regulations on Promoting and Standardizing the Application of Electronic Documents (Draft for Comments)" and is now soliciting public opinions. It mentions encouraging institutions and enterprises in the fields of goods trade, logistics, finance, etc., to recognize and use electronic documents when conducting business, enhance the digital level of business applications, and promote quality and efficiency improvements in the industry.Encouraging financial institutions to explore the use of new payment methods such as digital RMB for cross-border payments based on the characteristics of electronic documents, under the premise of legal compliance and controllable risks, and to actively and steadily carry out innovation in financial products and service models.