The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has reportedly approved three spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

The list includes ETFs from Harvest Global Investments, China Asset Management and a partnership between HashKey and Bosera Asset Management.

Following the initial approval, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong will require approximately two weeks to finalize listing procedures and related arrangements.

The approval of the first spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs in Hong Kong could catalyze Bitcoin’s post-halving rally, according to Herbert Sim, chief operating officer of crypto exchange Websea, who told Cointelegraph:

“[The] halving is not the only thing to look out for in the price action. But rather the upcoming Bitcoin ETF approval in Hong Kong. The big banks of China will all have to start buying Bitcoin themselves, too.”

Meanwhile, the chief executive of investment firm VanEck says it is unlikely the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot Ether (ETH) ETFs in May.

In a recent interview, Jan van Eck said his firm’s spot Ether ETF application will “probably be rejected.” He noted that VanEck was the first to file for a spot Ether ETF in the U.S. alongside Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, with both awaiting final decisions by May 23 and May 24, respectively.

U.S. Treasury wants to tighten crypto crime control

U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo continued advocating for more enforcement powers for his agency in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. 

In a hearing on countering illicit finance, terrorism and sanctions evasion, Adeyemo outlined three proposed reforms to improve U.S. enforcement efforts against international bad actors using crypto.

The proposed reforms include the introduction of secondary sanctions targeting “foreign digital asset providers” engaging in illicit finance. U.S. sanctions prohibit institutions from using U.S. correspondent accounts and transaction processing through banks, Adeyemo said, but crypto exchanges and money services do not always depend on the use of correspondent accounts. “A new secondary sanctions tool” is needed.

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Dubai to ease burdens for small crypto firms

Dubai’s crypto landscape is transforming, but smaller players are grappling with hefty regulatory burdens amid the buzz. 

Matthew White, CEO of Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), unveiled ambitious plans to alleviate the compliance costs plaguing small crypto entities.

The VARA official said that getting regulated is a “costly exercise” and that many people lack the resources. White explained a potential fix, where larger participants could “host” smaller ones.

With this structure, costs would be carried by entities with more resources. “The cost of compliance is borne by the larger systemic players, and this allows the smaller players to come into the ecosystem, be regulated, but also not have to suffer the same sort of level of costs of compliance that we’ve got,” he said.

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Australia busts unlicensed crypto miners

Hundreds of Australian investors are more than 160 million Australian dollars ($104 million) out of pocket after a group of cryptocurrency mining companies — NGS Crypto Pty, NGS Digital Pty and NGS Group (collectively “NGS companies”) — collapsed into liquidation. 

The Australian Security and Investments Commission (ASIC) launched civil proceedings against the companies and their directors, Brett Mendham, Ryan Brown and Mark Ten Caten.

The NGS companies have been accused of targeting local investors to establish self-managed superannuation funds and then convert the funds into cryptocurrency for investment in blockchain mining packages with promised fixed-rate returns.

ASIC alleges that approximately 450 investors entrusted a total of 62 million AU$ ($40 million) to these companies, which also operated without the necessary Australian license.

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