Web3 Diaries
Hong Kong Regulators Restrict Retail Investor Access To ‘Complex’ Crypto Products
Five years ago, Hong Kong’s first strategy to regulating cryptocurrency assets essentially limited market activity to professional investors alone. But since then, a lot more financial products have emerged that provide exposure to virtual assets; for instance, regulators have let retail investors to use cryptocurrency trading platforms.
A joint circular from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has updated their policy in this area in response to market developments and an increasing number of inquiries from industry players seeking to increase retail access to virtual asset (VA) products and services.
The authorities noted that the concerns they outlined in 2018 remain relevant today because of the remaining uneven global regulatory landscape. They added that there may be extra dangers because crypto platforms might not be held to the same standards as service providers in the traditional financial industry because they might be unregulated or just loosely regulated.
The SFC and the HKMA emphasized that specific risks associated with VA products should be covered by investor protection measures, which should be implemented in addition to the requirements under Hong Kong’s complex product regime. They cited a number of international non-derivative products as examples, including cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
Worldcoin To Pay Orb Operators In WLD Rather Than USDC
In place of USDC stablecoins, the Worldcoin Foundation will soon pay orb operators—those who scan users into the Worldcoin network—in WLD tokens. The message, which is hidden from American users, states that the foundation plans to finish the change by the end of the month.
The WLD token’s circulating supply, which has surpassed 1% of its entire supply of 10 billion tokens, was also updated by the Foundation. Of the roughly 134 million WLD that were released, 100 million were lent to market makers, while the remaining 34 million were handed away as grants to users and orb operators.
The agreements will be extended until December 15 of this year with a decreased amount of 75 million tokens; the market makers will either return the tokens or, alternatively, purchase some or all of the remaining 25 million as part of the arrangement. The loans were scheduled to expire on October 24.
Worldcoin’s co-founder Sam Altman, best known for starting OpenAI, the firm that powers ChatGPT, mentioned “operational challenges” in his statement, but overall, the company’s token grants seem to be increasing after an early burst of enthusiastic acceptance.
ECB Moves Forward On CBDC Project After Concluding 2-Year Research Phase
The European Central Bank Governing Council said on October 18 that it has made the decision to forward the digital euro initiative to the next stage.
After a two-year investigation phase, the proposed European CBDC is about to enter the preparatory phase.
The first phase of preparation will begin on November 1 and last for the first two years. It will entail testing, choosing technology suppliers, and establishing the digital euro rulebook.
Following the completion of the preparatory stage, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, the ECB will determine whether to proceed with the actual issuance of a CBDC. Only when the EU legislative procedure is finished—which is probably going to take into the next year—would this choice be made.
A digital form of money, the proposed digital euro would enable individual offline payments. It would provide the strictest privacy standards, be widely available, and be free for basic use.
Through banks or an app called “Eurosystem,” users would have access to digital euro services. People without bank accounts could make use of a post office or other public organization’s card.
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