Visa completes Hong Kong digital currency trial with HSBC and Hang Seng
- Hong Kong is one step closer to a central bank digital currency (CBDC) with the release of its successful phase 1 results in collaboration with Visa, HSBC, and Hang Seng Bank.
- Visa achieved “near real-time” finality with transfers involving tokenized deposits of the digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD).
- The digital HK dollar test pilot was functional 24/7, surpassing the uptime of traditional financial systems.
- Visa plans to explore the use of e-HKD in tokenized asset markets and programmable finance to automate real estate transactions.
Hashkey’s regulated exchange token
- Hashkey, one of the first crypto exchanges to receive a regulatory license in Hong Kong, will introduce an exchange token called “HashKey EcoPoints” (HSK) in 2024.
- The HSK token will be minted on Ethereum with a total supply of 1 billion.
- The token will be distributed as incentives to ecosystem users and distributors and can be used to settle trading fees and gain early access to future token subscriptions and product upgrades.
- Hashkey also pledges to buy back HSK tokens with up to 20% of profits generated from related Hashkey services.
$308M syndicate manipulated crypto markets to launder money: Police
- Nineteen Chinese nationals have been sentenced for their role in a $308 million money-laundering scheme involving cryptocurrencies.
- The accused individuals used peer-to-peer transactions to avoid platform monitoring and laundered Bitcoin and Tether for proceeds of crime related to online gambling and wire fraud.
- The individuals were sentenced to six months to six years in prison.
- The rise in wire fraud involving cryptocurrencies has led to a crackdown on crypto-related activities in China.
