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Digital currencies

Digital currencies
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Digital currencies. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Bhutan is the world’s first nation to unveil a countrywide, government-backed system enabling visitors to pay for virtually every aspect of their stay using digital currencies. Photo: Marcus Westberg
Tourism

Crypto kingdom: Bhutan goes all-in on bitcoin tourism

With over 1,000 vendors now accepting crypto payments, Bhutan is wagering on rapid adoption luring tech-savvy travellers and fuelling growth.

Stablecoins

China’s state-asset watchdog explores role of stablecoins, other digital assets

Blockchain

Bitcoin hits another record as options traders eye US$120,000

India

Beyond gold: India sees America’s bitcoin reserve – and eyes its own

While a ‘measured bitcoin strategy’ could boost India’s economic resilience, the country lacks a proper framework for cryptocurrencies, analysts say.

Bitcoins are a form of digital money outside the control of any one person, group or entity, and have been compared to the modern-day equivalent of a traditional asset such as gold. Photo: TNS
Yuan

Why the yuan can be safe-haven currency: former bank official flags ‘advantages’

Authors, including the PBOC’s former statistics head, call for ‘a new vision where multiple currencies jointly support global financial stability’.

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Blockchain

Bitcoin hits record US$112,000 amid Wall Street rally, crypto surge

Traders should stay vigilant for potential profit-taking or macroeconomic shifts that could spark corrections, one analyst says.

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China digital currency

Opinion | Amid dollar disappointment, China opens new front with e-CNY push

Subtle shift under way as fintech merges with geopolitics: e-CNY is a way to evade US sanctions and dollar volatility but also carries risks.

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A digital yuan sign at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijng, China, on September 5, 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Blockchain

Eric Trump to headline Bitcoin Asia 2025 conference in Hong Kong

The August event comes as the race for crypto supremacy has intensified, with both Hong Kong and the US moving to legalise stablecoins.

Cryptocurrency

Singapore’s crypto exchange crackdown seen benefiting Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Web3 industry sees benefits from the end of regulatory arbitrage by exchanges in Singapore serving overseas customers.

Banking & finance

Economist Huang Yiping floats Hong Kong as stablecoin staging ground

A digital currency pegged to the offshore yuan would be more workable in Hong Kong than mainland China, the central bank adviser says.

Huang Yiping, an economist and adviser to the People’s Bank of China, has suggested Hong Kong launch a stablecoin backed by the offshore yuan. Photo: Dickson Lee
Banking & finance

Opinion | How Hong Kong can win race to become world’s tokenisation hub

The question is not whether tokenisation will reshape finance but who will shape it. Hong Kong’s strategy sets it apart from the pack.

A woman walks past a currency exchange shop in Causeway Bay with a bank vault painted on its gate on May 5, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse
Stablecoins

Mainland Chinese digital yuan partner to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

Shenzhen-listed North King says Hong Kong will be a springboard into international fintech markets, with plans for stablecoin wallets.

Banking & finance

Explainer | The world is going all in on stablecoins. Is China’s digital yuan any different?

While the two appear similar, China’s digital currency is quite different from the cryptocurrencies many economies are rushing to regulate.

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Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong striving to create favourable environment for stablecoins: Paul Chan

Financial secretary says authorities ‘aim to help resolve practical pain points for businesses and everyday citizens’.

Hong Kong is seeking to cement its role as a global cryptocurrency hub. Photo: Eugene Lee
Cryptocurrency

Hong Kong sharpens crypto hub focus amid rising global competition

Hong Kong is seeking an early lead in stablecoins and tokenisation as Trump pushes the US to become the ‘crypto capital of the planet’.

Hong Kong is looking to take a lead in key areas of the digital asset industry, including stablecoins and tokenisation. Photo: Shutterstock
Stablecoins

Hong Kong makes public stablecoin adoption a top priority in digital asset push

The government is calling for new proposals to test stablecoin applications and make tax concessions for digital asset holdings.

Banking & finance

Opinion | We’re sleeping on threats from AI, shadow banking and cryptocurrency

The financial industry’s use of emerging technologies could lead to cascading crises if regulators don’t act fast to enforce transparency.

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Banking & finance

Are stablecoins the future? Don’t bank on it, warns the bank for central banks

Bank for International Settlements releases ‘advance chapter’ on stablecoins ahead of its Annual Economic Report that paints a future picture of a different financial system.

The international financial organisation known as the “bank for central banks” has waded into the stablecoin debate as the buzzword gathers momentum. Image: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

Beijing could use Hong Kong to test yuan-linked stablecoins: Morgan Stanley

Beijing’s digital currency ambitions are unlikely to unlock the full potential of the yuan’s internationalisation, analysts say.

Yuan

China needs yuan-backed stablecoins ‘sooner rather than later’, Beijing urged

The US dollar’s dominance in global markets could be enhanced by stablecoins, and China has a golden chance to make the yuan a more global currency, analysts say.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin drops below US$100,000 after US strikes Iran nuclear sites

Bitcoin sank as much as 3.8 per cent and Ether as much as 10 per cent in the aftermath of the attacks.

The US bombing of nuclear sites in Iran has made cryptocurrency investors nervous, triggering a sell-off. Photo: Reuters
Blockchain

Hong Kong Web3 group issues blueprint for accelerating blockchain development

Web3 Harbour, in collaboration with PwC Hong Kong, will launch five action groups in August on stablecoins, funds and other critical segments.

Visitors attend the Web 3 Festival at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | As Hong Kong’s financial sector soars, what about food and retail?

Sound policies have helped boost internationally connected capital markets, but fresh ideas are still needed to uplift the local consumer economy.

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Singapore

In Singapore’s last bastion of cash, money changers fight the future

From sailors to tourists, hundreds flock daily to The Arcade, proving that in a city obsessed with fintech, cold hard cash still holds sway.

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Banking & finance

Editorial | US dollar uncertainty propels use of e-CNY

As mainland’s international operations centre, Shanghai will increase global reach of yuan, promote China’s central bank digital currency.

China’s e-CNY online currency is picking up as global worries about the dollar continue. Photo: Shutterstock
Stablecoins

Why US-backed stablecoins have China wary of a potentially more dominant dollar

Former head of China’s central bank warns ‘USD-backed stablecoins could have worldwide influence’, and what about the yuan’s internationalisation?

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Illustration: Shutterstock
Cryptocurrency

Letters | How Asia can define the era of stablecoins

Readers discuss policy momentum for stablecoins, the Israel-Iran war, and pro-baby policies.

Banking & finance

Hong Kong could serve as stablecoin test bed to raise yuan’s profile

Hong Kong’s stablecoins can serve as a testing ground for the mainland, providing both experience and lessons, HashKey Group CEO says.

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