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Cryptocurrency Crimes in Hong Kong Almost Tripled Over the Last 3 Years

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2 years ago

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Cryptocurrency Crimes in Hong Kong Almost Tripled Over the Last 3 Years

Over the past three years, the incidences of virtual asset-related crimes in Hong Kong have significantly increased. The cases reported amounted to 1,397, 2,336, and 3,415, involving HKD 824 million, HKD 1.704 billion, and HKD 4.398 billion, respectively, nearly tripling during this period.

Law enforcement has gathered specific statistics for individual cases per the report regarding arrests and legal proceedings. For example, in the JPEX case, as of February 20, 70 individuals had been apprehended, with no formal charges filed against them yet.

Hong Kong’s Lists Suspicious Trading Platforms

According to a statement by Christopher Hui, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, in response to a query from a legislator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has intensified its information disclosure efforts since September last year.

The efforts include publishing extensive information regarding virtual asset trading platforms, such as a “list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms,” to provide transparent and timely information to the public. As of February 14, this list contained 14 trading platforms.

The SFC and the Police had exchanged intelligence concerning over 100 virtual asset trading platforms or related activities as of February 2. The determination regarding whether to initiate a special investigation into individual trading platforms and activities is based on various criteria, including their connection to Hong Kong, potential violations of relevant laws, and the scale of people and funds involved.

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Meanwhile, the JPEX case was major in Hong Kong last year. Following a liquidity crisis, the exchange ceased operations, bringing about a thorough investigation by the SFC. Thousands of customer complaints came in, and the loss surpassed $152 million. So far, 8 suspects have been detained, and authorities have frozen about $1.9 million in their accounts and confiscated property valued at $5.6 million.

Hong Kong Cracks Down on Crypto Service Providers

The Treasury Department initiated a public consultation on February 8 regarding the legislative proposal for licensing virtual asset trading service providers to enhance the regulatory framework further. The consultation period will last until April 12.

In collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Treasury Department commenced a public consultation in December 2023 concerning the regulation of stablecoin issuers, which concluded on February 29.

Depending on the outcomes of these consultations and the advancement of preparatory work, the government aims to swiftly submit a draft regulation pertaining to the licensing regime to the Legislative Council.

Meanwhile, HTX, previously known as Huobi, recently applied to provide cryptocurrency services in Hong Kong, joining a growing list of applicants. This move follows closely after Bybit, another cryptocurrency exchange, also filed for licensing approval from the SFC to operate within the region.

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Crypto

Crypto Crime Wave Fueled by Chinese-Language Money Laundering | PYMNTS.com

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4 hours ago

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January 27, 2026

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Crypto Crime Wave Fueled by Chinese-Language Money Laundering | PYMNTS.com

Cryptocurrency laundering was an $82 billion problem last year, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (Jan. 27), citing data from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

Chinese-language money laundering networks made up $16.1 billion of that total as they play an increasing role in crypto crime, the report said.

“These are groups that are growing exponentially,” Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, told Bloomberg, per the report. “We’re talking about growth of over 7,300 times faster than other illicit flows.”

Although China has outlawed crypto transactions, illegal activity continues as the government chiefly focuses on behavior that threatens capital controls or financial stability, according to the report.

The networks “have really embraced cryptocurrencies,” said Kathryn Westmore, a senior associate fellow at the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, per the report, adding that crypto provides “a way to launder the proceeds of cash-generating criminal activities, like drugs or fraud.”

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The news followed a warning from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in August, which said Chinese money laundering networks are now among the most significant threats to the American financial system, helping fuel the operations of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels.

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“The networks have become effective partners because they can move cash quickly, absorb losses and leverage demand from Chinese nationals seeking to bypass Beijing’s strict currency controls,” PYMNTS reported Aug. 29. “By pairing cartel dollars with Chinese demand for U.S. currency, these networks have created what FinCEN called a ‘mutualistic relationship’ that strengthens both sides.”

Meanwhile, Eric Jardine, head of research at Chainalysis, discussed last year’s record-setting levels of crypto crime with PYMNTS in an interview published Monday (Jan. 26). Around $154 billion flowed to illicit addresses, the most ever recorded, and there was a 160% increase in illicit volumes.

“But treating that number as evidence of runaway criminal adoption may miss the more consequential story,” PYMNTS wrote. “What changed in 2025 was not merely volume, but the identity of the actors, the scale at which they operated, and the implications this has for banks, regulators, and the future architecture of financial blockchain compliance.”

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The true inflection came from “a shift in who’s doing what,” Jardine said, adding that in 2025, nation states, most notably Russia, began taking part “in earnest in the crypto ecosystem,” chiefly through sanctions evasion.

Unlike earlier state-linked activity, like North Korea’s hacking campaigns, this was not marginal behavior at the edges of the system, but “industrial-scale financial activity conducted in plain sight,” PYMNTS wrote.

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Crypto

Fixing BTC’s Quantum Issue Tops All Bitcoin Development Priorities, Says Willy Woo

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16 hours ago

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January 27, 2026

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Fixing BTC’s Quantum Issue Tops All Bitcoin Development Priorities, Says Willy Woo
Quantum risk is emerging as a decisive hurdle for bitcoin’s institutional future as sovereign investors weigh long-term resilience, pushing gold and BTC into sharper focus amid debt cycles, macro uncertainty, and geopolitical realignment, according to on-chain analyst Willy Woo.
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Crypto

Strategy buys even more Bitcoin—$264 million of it—even as Bitcoin slumps to $87,000. | Fortune

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1 day ago

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January 26, 2026

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Strategy buys even more Bitcoin—4 million of it—even as Bitcoin slumps to ,000. | Fortune

Despite the current downturn for crypto, Strategy added even more Bitcoin to its collection. The company bought more than 2,900 Bitcoin last week, bringing its total to over 712,000, according to an X post by cofounder Michael Saylor. The move follows a more than $2 billion purchase earlier this month. 

Strategy is the first and biggest digital asset treasury, or a type of company that acquires and holds on to large amounts of crypto. Saylor’s company began investing in Bitcoin in 2020 and now holds more than 3% of the total supply. This business model has confronted major challenges in the past few months, as the largest cryptocurrency has plummeted since its all-time high in October. Bitcoin is worth about $87,000, down about 31% since then, according to Binance. 

One analyst views Saylor’s purchase as expected, considering the company’s business strategy, which is to continually amass Bitcoin on the theory it will appreciate in the long term, and to time purchases to coincide with market dips.

“It’s not surprising for me to see that they’re really aggressively continuing to purchase [Bitcoin]”, said Nathan Schmidt, an analyst at CFRA Research. “It is certainly the playbook for them these days.” 

Bitcoin’s fall from its all-time high of about $126,000 in October was caused in part by a flash crash in the fall, where crypto traders lost more than $19 billion in their positions. Misfortunes for digital assets have only continued this calendar year. The sector dipped as tensions mounted between the U.S. and Europe over Greenland. In addition, major regulatory legislation, referred to as the Clarity Act, has stalled as major figures in the crypto industry spar over its details. 

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The major cryptocurrency isn’t the only one to suffer losses, as altcoins are down as well. Ethereum is down 30% in the last three months to its current price of $2,899, and Solana is down more than 38% to its price of about $124, according to Binance.

Crypto’s dip has led to disastrous returns for digital asset treasuries like Strategy. Saylor’s company stock is down about 64% since July to its current price of about $160. 

Schmidt, the analyst from CFRA Research, argues that the biggest risk to Strategy is long-term declines in the value of Bitcoin. He says that the company could survive such a dip in the next few years because of its liquidity, but that over time the company would be in trouble. 

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