Asia promotes crypto clarity amid regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
High-rise buildings are seen near Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, China, July 24, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Asia is promoting crypto clarity amid regulatory uncertainty in the U.S., and this could make the region more attractive to investors, according to industry observers.
“Cryptocurrency regulations in Asia have moved along faster and with more clarity — green light or red light — than in the U.S.,” said Ben Charoenwong, assistant professor in finance at the National University of Singapore Business School.
“This has made Asia the premiere location for much of fintech innovation,” said Charoenwong.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong officially opened crypto trading to retail investors and upgraded licenses of two exchanges. HashKey and OSL can now expand their business beyond professional investors to now include retail investors.
“It shows that virtual assets are becoming a recognized asset class with a similar regulatory status as traditional asset classes,” said Lennix Lai, global chief commercial officer at crypto exchange OKX.
“This will further boost investor confidence, making Hong Kong more attractive as a potential global virtual asset hub,” said Lai. OKX is applying for a virtual assets trading license in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong and Singapore are both similar in terms of the approach to maintaining very high regulatory standards.
Ong Chengyi
Head of APAC policy, Chainalysis
Last year, Hong Kong said it recognizes “the potential of distributed ledger technologies and Web 3.0 to become the future of finance and commerce” and expects to enhance efficiency and transparency with proper regulation.
Rival regional financial hub Singapore has also been a frontrunner in crypto regulation. The Monetary Authority of Singapore granted Blockchain.com a license in August, an upgrade to the in-principle approval it got in October. Another player Ripple received in-principle approval in June. This means that Blockchain.com and Ripple can provide regulated crypto services in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Thailand and Indonesia have banned the use of crypto for payments, but allows it to be traded as a commodity.
Hong Kong had the opportunity and hindsight to go through the crypto winter and look at what other regulators have done to enhance and roll out its regime.
Janice Goh
Partner at Cavenagh Law
In contrast, Coinbase and Ripple are embroiled in lawsuits with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has accused them of securities laws violations. Both Coinbase and Ripple, as well as other crypto firms, have threatened to leave the U.S. in response to the SEC’s crackdown.
Turmoil in the U.S.
To be sure, the sector has been embroiled in scandal and high drama over the past year. In November, FTX filed for bankruptcy while Terraform and its CEO Do Kwon were charged in February for defrauding investors.
Bitcoin has dropped to trade near $28,373, far below its all-time high of more than $65,000 in 2021.
Crypto leaders have slammed the U.S. and its approach to regulation, particularly for a lack of clarity.
In 2020, the SEC accused Ripple and its co-founders of breaching securities laws by selling its native cryptocurrency XRP without first registering it with the SEC. But in July, a landmark ruling determined the token was not, in itself, necessarily a security.
Meanwhile, the SEC sued Coinbase in June, alleging it was operating an unregistered exchange and broker. In the same month, Binance was charged for several securities law violations.
“I think it’s fair to say the U.S. has made it as confusing as possible as to what the rules of the road are for the crypto industry. The SEC has really been at the forefront of that confusion,” Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview with CNBC in May. He concluded some crypto firms could leave the U.S. for more progressive jurisdictions as a result.
Asia’s regulatory clarity
Across the Pacific, Singapore and Hong Kong offer far more operational clarity for many industry players
“Singapore has the first mover advantage in the Asia Pacific region, including being ahead of Hong Kong. There were no other countries that were so far ahead in having quite an advanced licensing regime,” Janice Goh, partner at Cavenagh Law, told CNBC.
In November, Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS, made it clear that Singapore wants to be a hub for digital assets, but not one for speculating on crypto.
“Hong Kong and Singapore are both similar in terms of the approach to maintaining very high regulatory standards, as well as being very proactive in creating an enabling environment for digital asset businesses,” said Ong Chengyi, head of APAC policy at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Ong expects Hong Kong to issue more licenses and for more crypto firms to flock to Asia.
In June, Gemini said it will increase its headcount in Singapore and that the city-state will serve as its regional hub, joining Coinbase and Ripple in expanding their Asia operations.
The Hims app arranged on a smartphone in New York on Feb. 12, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Hims & Hers Health shares closed up 5% on Tuesday after the company announced patients can access Eli Lilly‘s weight loss medication Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, as well as the generic injection liraglutide, through its platform.
Zepbound, Mounjaro and liraglutide are part of the class of weight loss medications called GLP-1s, which have exploded in popularity in recent years. Hims & Hers launched a weight loss program in late 2023, but its GLP-1 offerings have evolved as the company has contended with a volatile supply and regulatory environment.
Lilly’s weekly injections Zepbound and Mounjaro will cost patients $1,899 a month, according to the Hims & Hers website. The generic liraglutide will cost $299 a month, but it requires a daily injection and can be less effective than other GLP-1 medications.
“As we look ahead, we plan to continue to expand our weight loss offering to deliver an even more holistic, personalized experience,” Dr. Craig Primack, senior vice president of weight loss at Hims & Hers, wrote in a blog post.
A Lilly spokesperson said in a statement that the company has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers and noted that Zepbound is available at lower costs for people who are insured for the product or for those who buy directly from the company.
In May, Hims & Hers started prescribing compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk‘s GLP-1 weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy. The offering was immensely popular and helped generate more than $225 million in revenue for the company in 2024.
But compounded drugs can traditionally only be mass produced when the branded medications treatments are in shortage. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in February that the shortage of semaglutide injections products had been resolved.
That meant Hims & Hers had to largely stop offering the compounded medications, though some consumers may still be able to access personalized doses if it’s clinically applicable.
During the company’s quarterly call with investors in February, Hims & Hers said its weight loss offerings will primarily consist of its oral medications and liraglutide. The company said it expects its weight loss offerings to generate at least $725 million in annual revenue, excluding contributions from compounded semaglutide.
But the company is still lobbying for compounded medications. A pop up on Hims & Hers’ website, which was viewed by CNBC, encourages users to “use your voice” and urge Congress and the FDA to preserve access to compounded treatments.
With Tuesday’s rally, Hims and Hers shares are up about 27% in 2025 after soaring 172% last year.
WATCH: Hims & Hers shares tumble over concerns around weight-loss business
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg holds a smartphone as he makes a keynote speech at the Meta Connect annual event at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024.
Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters
Meta’s head of artificial intelligence research announced Tuesday that she will be leaving the company.
Joelle Pineau, the company’s vice president of AI research, announced her departure in a LinkedIn post, saying her last day at the social media company will be May 30.
Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of rivals like OpenAI and Google.
Zuckerberg has said that it is his goal for Meta to build an AI assistant with more than 1 billion users and artificial general intelligence, which is a term used to describe computers that can think and take actions comparable to humans.
“As the world undergoes significant change, as the race for AI accelerates, and as Meta prepares for its next chapter, it is time to create space for others to pursue the work,” Pineau wrote. “I will be cheering from the sidelines, knowing that you have all the ingredients needed to build the best AI systems in the world, and to responsibly bring them into the lives of billions of people.”
Vice President of AI Research and Head of FAIR at Meta Joelle Pineau attends a technology demonstration at the META research laboratory in Paris on February 7, 2025.
Stephane De Sakutin | AFP | Getty Images
Pineau was one of Meta’s top AI researchers and led the company’s fundamental AI research unit, or FAIR, since 2023. There, she oversaw the company’s cutting-edge computer science-related studies, some of which are eventually incorporated into the company’s core apps.
She joined the company in 2017 to lead Meta’s Montreal AI research lab. Pineau is also a computer science professor at McGill University, where she is a co-director of its reasoning and learning lab.
Some of the projects Pineau helped oversee include Meta’s open-source Llama family of AI models and other technologies like the PyTorch software for AI developers.
Pineau’s departure announcement comes a few weeks ahead of Meta’s LlamaCon AI conference on April 29. There, the company is expected to detail its latest version of Llama. Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, to whom Pineau reported to, said in March that Llama 4 will help power AI agents, the latest craze in generative AI. The company is also expected to announce a standalone app for its Meta AI chatbot, CNBC reported in February.
“We thank Joelle for her leadership of FAIR,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s been an important voice for Open Source and helped push breakthroughs to advance our products and the science behind them.”
Pineau did not reveal her next role but said she “will be taking some time to observe and to reflect, before jumping into a new adventure.”
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