Hong Kong regulators fight crypto crime wave, plan to tokenise securities.

In a bid to restore its financial hub status, the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong has announced plans to tokenize more government bonds from 2024 to 2026. Hong Kong has already been a leader in governments tokenizing securities, issuing tokenized green bonds last year. The city has suffered from political pressure from China and strict Covid-19 requirements. Its stock market has lost $6 trillion in value since its peak in 2021 and India’s booming economy is leaving Hong Kong behind. Despite its efforts to stimulate crypto action, the Securities and Futures Commission is struggling to protect investors from scams and has faced criticism for failing to identify the actors behind suspicious crypto exchanges. The agency plans to improve public awareness of crypto and investment scams as well as use its resources to bring wrongdoers to justice. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is seeking public opinion on a proposal to let banks share customer account information to prevent and detect financial crime. A recent movie released in Hong Kong, “Crypto Storm,” depicts law enforcement heroes battling a bank that tries to turn its fortunes around by dabbling in crypto exchanges.