Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) will implement stricter anti-money laundering (AML) rules for crypto service providers on Nov. 30, fast-tracking measures initially planned for later. Crypto exchanges and virtual asset service providers (VASPs) must complete AML compliance registration, with non-compliance punishable by up to two years in prison and fines of NT$5 million ($153,700). Overseas VASPs must establish local entities under Taiwan's Company Act to operate in the region. The FSC aims to tighten scrutiny on custody, listing procedures, information security, and fraud prevention. Local exchanges MaiCoin and BitoPro have already faced fines for AML violations and are taking steps to address deficiencies.
Hong Kong's central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), has launched the Digital Bond Grant Scheme (DBGS) to subsidize tokenized bond issuances, offering up to 50% reimbursement for eligible expenses, capped at $321,184 per issuance. Announced on Nov. 28, the initiative aims to promote tokenization in capital markets. Full grants require bonds to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong or a licensed platform, while half grants apply to bonds issued on the HKMA’s Central Moneymarkets Unit. This follows Hong Kong's issuance of $100 million in tokenized green bonds in February and comes amid discussions on tax exemptions for crypto-related gains to bolster its position as a global financial hub.
Japanese investment firm Metaplanet aims to raise $62 million through stock acquisition to purchase 652 additional Bitcoin, bolstering its current holdings of 1,142 BTC worth over $109 million. The move is part of its treasury strategy to hedge against the depreciating yen and capitalize on Bitcoin's record-high price of $99,645.39. Metaplanet has deprioritized metaverse initiatives in favor of increasing Bitcoin reserves. This follows its October fundraising of $66 million, also allocated to BTC purchases, amid a broader trend of companies adding Bitcoin to their balance sheets.
November has demonstrated a robust performance for BTC, appreciating over 36%, marking it as the fourth strongest month since October 2021. From a chartist point of view, there is more juice left to squeeze in this bull market. We finally pulled back towards the 20-day moving average which is a good sign of a healthy bull market. Unfortunately, the MACD has crossed below its signal line, signalling that the momentum has slowed down. We can see that this is the case with the spot volume as well. It has been trending lower ever since we reached $90,000 on November 12th, reflecting less momentum on behalf of market participants.
ETH has outperformed BTC and SOL by 20% and 16% respectively in the last week. ETHBTC ratio is recovering from the yearly lows and is approaching its short term resistance of 0.041. SOLETH has come down but is approaching a support level near 0.063 that could open the door for SOL to catch up. Rising activity on the ETH network matched with more consistent inflows for ETH ETFs, could help price action surpass its record high which is 35% away at $4,870.
XRP has seen a notable surge, advancing over 10% in the last 24 hours and outshining its market counterparts. The token reached $1.7, its highest valuation since May 2021, with open interest today setting a new record by surpassing $2 billion. The anticipated resignation of SEC Chair Gary Gensler in January has fueled optimism for a more lenient regulatory framework, further buoyed by expectations of an imminent XRP ETF launch in the U.S., contributing to the bullish sentiment surrounding the token.
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