Crypto

Landmark ruling highlights need for Hong Kong’s crypto regulatory framework

Published

2 years ago

August 26, 2024

Landmark ruling highlights need for Hong Kong’s crypto regulatory framework

The cryptocurrency industry has, at times, been described as a financial “Wild West”, freewheeling, volatile and resistant to regulation.

But the protection of investors and the development of an attractive environment for virtual assets are not mutually exclusive.

Hong Kong, with its aspirations to become a Web3 business hub, should be setting an example. The city has started work on a regulatory framework, intended to boost investor confidence, and is developing new rules.

When disputes arise, the courts also have an important role to play. Earlier this month, a landmark High Court ruling, described as a world first, took a step towards greater transparency and accountability.

The case concerns a battle over the ownership, management and control of a cryptocurrency finance project involving a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that uses blockchain technology.

Plaintiffs who conceived and set up the project claim they delegated management to employees who then “misappropriated” its business and assets.

This is disputed by the defendants, who argue the ultimate decision-making power lies with purchasers of digital tokens, through voting rights, rather than any individual or entity.

The ownership issue is yet to be decided. But the court ruled, with the trial pending, the defendants must make the platform’s financial accounts available. This will be vital to any assessment of damages and preserves the status quo until the case is decided.

But the judge also referred to the importance of proper financial records being kept. This is fundamental to the running of a sound business and necessary to demystify the opaque nature of blockchain.

The ruling provides clarity and is consistent with the principle that new legal entities in the cryptocurrency field must be open to scrutiny.

As the judge said, the courts have little experience in dealing with disputes of this kind. But as the industry rapidly develops, we can expect more such cases in the future.

The ruling has led to a call for the government to regulate blockchain-based entities as part of ongoing efforts to attract investment and talent in the field.

This must be considered as the city moves forward with other regulatory measures, which include issuing licences for cyber currency platforms and amending laws to regulate stablecoins.

There is a need to strike the right balance between protecting investors and appealing to the industry. The scandal involving the JPEX platform, with more than HK$1 billion (US$128 million) in losses, is still fresh in the minds of Hong Kong people.

The city cannot afford to be complacent as it develops a regulatory framework while pushing ahead with efforts to make Hong Kong a centre for virtual assets.

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Crypto

Arthur Hayes Bets $2.2 Million on SYN, Backing Hypercall to Challenge Deribit

Published

5 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

Arthur Hayes Bets .2 Million on SYN, Backing Hypercall to Challenge Deribit

Key Takeaways

A $2.2 Million Vote of Confidence

Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and former chief executive of derivatives exchange BitMEX, has placed a fresh bet on the Hyperliquid ecosystem, buying roughly $2.2 million of synapse (SYN) and publicly endorsing the project behind an onchain options exchange.

The purchase, made on June 29 through over-the-counter trading firm Flowdesk, totaled about 6.16 million SYN tokens. Hayes, not one to keep quiet, subsequently took to X and commented:

“I still want to be long the Hyperliquid ecosystem but I need some asymmetry. It’s time for an options dex to properly take on Deribit. Hypercall, owned by $SYN, is that challenger. Let’s see if they can cook.”

Hypercall is an onchain options trading protocol built on Hyperliquid’s HyperEVM, the smart-contract layer of the fast-growing Hyperliquid network. The platform lets users trade options, with positions tradeable around the clock and risk capped at the premium a trader pays. Moreover, it has been developed by the team behind Synapse, whose SYN token is the asset Hayes bought.

A Run-Up in SYN

The endorsement landed on a token that was already on a tear as SYN surged more than tenfold in June, and Hayes’s purchase and public backing added fuel, with Synapse’s market capitalization climbing toward the $55 million to $60 million range and daily trading volume running above $95 million in the wake of his comments.

SYN token’s 10x surge over the past month, per Coingecko

Hayes commands an unusually large following among crypto traders, both for his market essays and his willingness to put capital behind his theses. Not only that, he has become one of the most closely watched voices in the Hyperliquid orbit, repeatedly championing the network’s HYPE token, at one point setting a $150 price target, though his wallet activity has not always matched his rhetoric.

Bitcoin.com News reported recently that a wallet linked to Hayes sold HYPE near $54 before buying back in at a higher price, a sequence that drew attention to the gap between his public calls and his trades.

Targeting Deribit’s Turf

Deribit has been the dominant venue for crypto options, a corner of the market long underserved by decentralized platforms because options are harder to build onchain than simple spot or perpetual-futures trading. By putting forth Hypercall as a credible challenger, Hayes is betting that Hyperliquid’s infrastructure can finally support a decentralized options market at scale and that SYN is the way to gain exposure to that bet.

That said, an endorsement and a price spike are not the same as trading volume, open interest, and users, the metrics that ultimately decide whether an options DEX can pressure an incumbent like Deribit. For the time being, Hayes and his $2.2 million bet have put a considerable megaphone behind the idea and the next thing to look out for is whether Hypercall can convert the hype and capital into durable trading activity before the attention inadvertently fades.

Crypto

Elizabeth Warren Says US Enemies Exploiting Crypto To ‘Move Billions’ After Iran Reportedly Uses CoinEx T

Published

15 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

Elizabeth Warren Says US Enemies Exploiting Crypto To ‘Move Billions’ After Iran Reportedly Uses CoinEx T

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) expressed concerns on Sunday over the potential misuse of cryptocurrencies by America’s adversaries.

Warren Says Crypto Legislation Will Make The Problem Worse

Warren cited a Wall Street Journal report on X detailing how Iran-affiliated entities moved billions in transactions through CoinEx, a cryptocurrency exchange that withdrew from the U.S. after a 2023 lawsuit.

“More evidence that our adversaries exploit crypto to move billions,” the senior lawmaker said.

Warren argued that the cryptocurrency legislation, i.e., the Clarity Act, would make the problem “worse” by creating new loopholes and urged Congress to strengthen the bill before passage.