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In less than a year since Hong Kong regulators gave the green light to crypto exchanges, there's been a noticeable surge of interest among traditional financial institutions and brokerages eager to secure their digital asset licenses for trading.Photo by Florian Wehde on UnsplashTiger BrokersTiger Brokers, a Beijing-headquartered one-stop trading brokerage with nine million international customers, offers one such example. The firm upgraded its Type 1 Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) license in January to include crypto trading for professional investors and financial institutions based in Hong Kong. The move followed an uptick in interest from mainland China-based firms in Q4, 2023.In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, John Fei Zeng, the CFO and director of Tiger Brokers, revealed that the firm currently boasts 865,500 funded accounts in Hong Kong, managing $18.9 billion in assets. Zeng stated: "Residents of Hong Kong will be able to trade virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum alongside stocks, options, futures, funds, and ETFs [Through Tiger Trade]." He explained that as part of the firm's expansion plans, additional digital assets will be evaluated. HKMA guidance on crypto custodyAs a testament to the regulatory clarity that has attracted firms like Tiger Brokers, on Tuesday Hong Kong's central bank issued guidance for authorized institutions interested in offering custody services for digital assets. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) outlined comprehensive risk assessment procedures and emphasized the importance of robust policies, oversight, and resource allocation to manage custodial activities effectively. Notably, the HKMA's guidance seeks to address concerns stemming from recent industry mishaps, including the collapse of FTX, Terra and Three Arrows Capital (3AC), by mandating stringent safeguards to protect clients' digital assets from theft, fraud or misappropriation. Key requirements include independent systems audits, secure storage practices and transparent record-keeping, underscoring the regulator's commitment to fostering trust and stability in the digital asset ecosystem. Victory SecuritiesIn a similar move to that of Tiger Brokers, Victory Securities, another Hong Kong brokerage, secured a license from the SFC last November to offer crypto trading services for retail investors. The company reported a significant surge in virtual asset transactions and new customer acquisitions, prompting plans to introduce trading discounts to incentivize compliant and safe virtual asset trading services. Moreover, OSL, a licensed Hong Kong crypto exchange, joined forces with Interactive Brokers in November 2023, enabling the latter to offer bitcoin and ether trading to retail investors through its platform. Further underscoring the evolving regulatory landscape, crypto exchange Bybit submitted a retail trading license application in Hong Kong, indicative of the sector's continued growth and maturity. Nevertheless, navigating the regulatory framework isn't without its challenges. Web3 firms eyeing Hong Kong may need to invest up to $25 million in corporate infrastructure and compliance to secure licensing approval, reflecting the stringent requirements imposed by regulators. As Hong Kong continues to refine its regulatory framework and enhance investor protections, the stage is set for further collaboration between traditional financial institutions and emerging crypto players within the Chinese autonomous territory.

Wintermute Asia executes inaugural options block trade via CMEWintermute Asia Pte. Ltd, the digital asset derivatives trading arm of the well-known algorithmic trading firm and crypto market maker Wintermute Group, has successfully executed its first options block trade through the CME Group.The BTC/USD block trade was conducted in collaboration with U.K.-based liquidity and data solutions specialist TP ICAP. It was successfully cleared by ABN AMRO, marking a significant milestone for Wintermute Asia in the digital assets space.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashMeeting institutional investor needsInstitutional interest in secure and alternative avenues for exposure to digital assets continues to build momentum. It’s likely with that in mind that Wintermute Asia is strategically expanding its derivatives product offerings with this latest move. It’s also no surprise that Wintermute’s Singapore-based team was involved in this development, given a recent expansion of its Singapore base and the fact that its derivatives business is dealt with in Singapore.Presently, Wintermute Asia provides vanilla options in BTC, ETH and various altcoins, featuring expiration periods ranging from 1 day to 6 months. The platform also caters to more sophisticated needs with the inclusion of exotic options.Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute Group, expressed enthusiasm about Wintermute Asia’s evolving product offering, stating:“Wintermute Asia is excited to offer a range of OTC derivatives solutions to our counterparties that can accommodate all of their trading needs. Our growing suite of derivative instruments allows investors to easily hedge and manage risks, generate yield, and gain synthetic exposure to the underlying digital assets.”The move towards facilitating options block trades aligns with the increasing diversification of institutional portfolios into the digital asset sector. Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, emphasized the significance of the partnership with Wintermute Asia. He commented:“We are pleased to provide Wintermute and its counterparties with access to our highly liquid, regulated suite of benchmark cryptocurrency futures and options on bitcoin and ether.”Involving TradFi heavyweightsCME is a cornerstone TradFi financial derivatives exchange, first established in 1898 and headquartered in Chicago in the United States. Its CEO Terry Duffy pushed back against proposals from convicted fraudster and FTX Founder Sam Bankman Fried in 2022 to alter the futures clearing model on the basis that such a move would introduce significant risk into the financial system. A year on from the failure of FTX and many other crypto platforms, a move towards involving established TradFi firms like CME, as Wintermute is doing, is far more appealing to institutional investors.Sam Newman, Digital Assets Head of Broking at TP ICAP, acknowledged Wintermute as another participant in block trading CME Group cryptocurrency products. TP ICAP, a key player in digital asset broking services since 2020, has been instrumental in price discovery and liquidity through global coverage on regulated exchanges. Newman expressed excitement about witnessing crypto-native firms like Wintermute accessing traditional products and services, indicating the market’s maturation.Earlier this year, CME Group upgraded its BrokerTec Stream from version 1.5 to 2.0. The upgrade aims to enhance performance and reduce latency for clients, introducing features such as sweepable matching and firm price improvements. Recently, CME became the second largest bitcoin futures exchange, second only to global crypto exchange Binance.

Japan Tops Crypto Losses to North Korean HackersHackers affiliated with the North Korean regime have been responsible for the theft of $721 million in digital assets from Japan.That’s the finding of a recent report by UK-based crypto compliance analysis firm Elliptic. Elliptic had produced the report on behalf of Japanese news media group, Nikkei. It leaves Japan at the top of the table when considering the distribution of digital asset losses suffered due to North Korean hackers on a country by country basis.Photo by FLY:D on UnsplashIncreasing lossesElliptic has the wherewithal to track and identify blockchain-based transfers. As part of its analysis, it grouped by region and by country those businesses that it identified as having cryptocurrency holdings that later were transferred to digital wallets held by the Lazarus Group, the most notorious hacker group connected with the North Korean government. It’s the first such analysis to break down crypto-related hacking losses on a country by country basis.The study included a consideration of both hacking and ransomware attacks. The loss associated with Japanese-based entities represents in excess of 30% of the global recorded loss. This latest analysis follows a recent report submitted to the United Nations which found that North Korea stole more digital assets in 2022 than any other year. That report had been submitted to the 15 members of a North Korea sanctions committee, finding that between $630 million and $1 billion worth of digital assets had been stolen.Lax securityElliptic’s analysis and subsequent report point to lax security being employed within Vietnamese and Japanese cryptocurrency marketplaces. Nikkei referred to an unnamed source who asserts that at least three Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges had been compromised by hackers between 2018 and 2021.One of those instances involved Zaif, a company that lost $51.4 million in 2018 and subsequently shut down operations. Overall, Elliptic estimates a global loss of $2.3 billion to hackers between 2017 and 2022 in digital assets, as suffered by crypto firms. It also estimates such losses suffered in the United States at $497 million, while Hong Kong-based losses have been calculated at $281 million.International responseIn April, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) within the Department of the Treasury in the United States stated that it had sanctioned two Chinese nationals and a Hong Kong British national for allegedly having aided the North Korean government in crypto money laundering activities.On Saturday, a joint statement was issued by the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors, following a meeting in Japan, outlining the “growing threat from illicit activities by state actors.” It’s widely believed that the proceeds of these hacks are contributing towards the funding of North Korea’s missile program and other such activities that threaten stability within the region.The Japan External Trade Organization (JETO) has estimated that the estimated $721 million stolen from Japan amounts to 8.8 times the value of North Korea’s exports in 2021.