The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the special administrative region’s central bank, has issued a warning to users that crypto businesses presenting themselves as banks and using banking terminology could be violating the region’s banking laws.
In a press release, the HKMA said that the use of certain banking terms may be misleading the public, causing users to think that the crypto firms are authorized banks in Hong Kong. However, the central bank highlighted that under the region’s banking laws, only licensed institutions are allowed to carry out banking or deposit-taking businesses in Hong Kong.
The central bank warned the public that firms describing themselves with words like “crypto bank,” “digital asset bank,” and “crypto asset bank” or claims to be offering banking services or banking accounts may be breaking the law.
According to the HKMA, other than authorized institutions, it’s unlawful for persons or businesses to use the word “bank” in the name or descriptions of their companies. In addition, facilitating the taking of deposits without the proper license is also a violation of the law.
The HKMA reminded the public that crypto firms which are not banks are not supervised by the central bank. This means that funds placed within the so-called “crypto banks” are not protected by the region’s deposit protection scheme.
Hong Kong has recently been cracking down on violators of its licensing laws. On Sept. 15, the region’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a warning against crypto exchange JPEX for allegedly promoting its products and services in Hong Kong without securing a license or applying for one.
Following the SFC’s warning, the exchange’s staff seemingly disappeared from its Token 2049 booth in Singapore. It also ramped up its withdrawal fees to up to 999 Tether (USDT), a move that tried to discourage users from retrieving their funds from the exchange.
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino explained that if the hacking group was telling the truth, they would have asked for a ransom, but he “couldn’t find any request.”
The symbolism of Labour taking the West Midlands mayor, a jewel in the Tory crown, could be felt in the room as Labour activists gathered in Birmingham to celebrate the win with their new mayor Richard Parker and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
There are moments on election journeys when the momentum shifts – and this win felt like one of them.
“We humbly asked [the voters] to put their trust and confidence in a changed Labour Party and they did. And that is a significant piece of political history that we’ve made here today,” said Sir Keir at his victory rally.
“So the message out of these elections, the last now the last stop before we go into that general election, is that the country wants change.
“I hope the prime minister is listening and gives the opportunity to the country to vote as a whole in a general election as soon as possible.”
This win gave them the boost that was missing when they won the Blackpool South by-election on a massive 26-point swing, but then failed to pick up the hundreds of council seats they were chasing.
More on Conservatives
Related Topics:
This win, on just 1,508 votes or 0.25 per cent of the vote, was a body blow for a Conservative party that believed they could just about cling on. Ben Houchen, the Tees Valley mayor, is now the last Tory standing.
For Labour, then a moment to bookmark.
Advertisement
Just as Boris Johnson’s Hartlepool by-election win in 2021 was a low point for Sir Keir – he told me this week that he considered resigning over the loss because he thought it showed he was the barrier to Labour’s recovery – this too will feel devastating not just for Andy Street but for the PM too.
Labour has beaten him in a street fight. He’s bloodied with Sir Keir now emboldened.
“This was the one result we really needed,” said one senior Labour figure. “It’s been our top focus for the past week and symbolically a very important win.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:32
Analysis of local election and mayoral results
And Labour needed the boost, because, as Professor Michael Thrasher pointed out in his Sky News’ national vote share projection calculated from the local election results, Sir Keir was not picking up the sort of vote share that Tony Blair was winning in the run-up to the 1997 Labour landslide.
His latest calculation of a 35% vote share for Labour and 26% for the Tories, put Sir Keir winning a general election but short of a majority.
What the West Midlands mayoral win did for Sir Keir was to give him a clear narrative that he is coming for the Tories and will do what he needs to take them down.
It raises inevitable questions about what is next for Rishi Sunak. The prime minister had nowhere to go today, not one win to celebrate. The worst performance in council elections in 40 years, was already pretty much as bad as it gets before the loss of Andy Street. The former Conservative mayor was magnanimous towards the prime minister, saying the loss was his alone.
But colleagues will not be so generous. One former cabinet minister said this loss was “devastating”. “We’re done and there’s no appetite to move against him,” said the senior MP. Many Tories tell me they are now resigned to defeat and believe Mr Sunak and his team needed to own it, rather than the rest of the party.
The coming days might be bumpy, the mood will be stony. But Tories tell me not much will actually change for them.
For Sir Keir, he now needs to sell not the changed Labour Party, but his vision for changing the country. The West Mids mayor’s win was dazzling, but it could have so easily gone the other way. And as Mr Sunak fights to survive, Labour still has to fight hard to win.