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To provide an overview of the Hong Kong regulatory regime for crypto-related investment products.

Describes the existing regulatory regime in Hong Kong for crypto-related investment products prior to November 2018 and, following circulars issued by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in November 2018, regulatory standards relating to virtual asset portfolio managers and fund distributors and a conceptual framework for potential regulation of virtual asset trading platform operators. Discusses the implications of the regulatory standards and conceptual framework.

The regulatory standards have aligned the requirements relating to crypto-related securities and futures contracts with those for crypto-related assets that do not fall within such definitions. The opt-in approach under the conceptual framework demonstrates that the SFC is actively trying to learn about the operations of platform operators and develop appropriate regulations accordingly.

Practical guidance from experienced lawyer with expertise in fund formation, fund investments and retail fund registration

The new technology-enabled means to transfer funds or value via crypto assets have prompted regulators and supervisors to question the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory framework. This paper aims to examine the recent developments of the EU AML legislation – leading up to the 2021 AML package – focusing in particular on the banks’ internal governance obligations.

The analysis is based on the legal dogmatic methodology and is therefore conducted thanks to a critical exam of the current and upcoming EU policy and legislation, taking into account the relevant literature and case-law.

The recent regulatory developments, culminating in the AML regulation, are strengthening the causal links between ML risk assessment–ML risk exposure–ML risk management, via internal governance procedures. One of the major AML regulatory strategies to react to the new challenges brought up by crypto assets amounts to a stricter and more demanding AML risk management regime imposed on banks.

The originality of this article lies in the analysis of the causal connection between money laundering risk identification and internal governance obligations. In particular, this article examines how the risk assessment will be shaping the organizational procedures, processes and internal functions necessary to manage the money laundering risks.

This study aims to explore the impact of cryptocurrency on intelligence activities by law enforcement agencies, focusing on the changing landscape due to its exploitation by terrorist organizations. Investigating the dual nature of cryptocurrency as a global payment system and a potential threat to national security, the purpose is to understand how law enforcement adapts its strategies in response to this evolving challenge.

The research uses a comprehensive approach by analyzing the integration of research and collection stages within the intelligence circle, particularly emphasizing blockchain analysis. By examining the actions of law enforcement authorities in the case study of Hamas’ crypto fundraising campaign, the study highlights how open-source information, accessible through blockchain, allows for strategic collaboration between law enforcement authorities and specialist companies in the field of intelligence analysis. This methodology enables law enforcement to enhance their intelligence gathering capabilities to trace illicit activity by terrorist organizations, leading to a successful seizure of crypto funds.

The findings reveal a symbiotic relationship between terrorist organizations and the crypto space, with the latter becoming an attractive means for financing activities. Law enforcement, in response, has evolved its intelligence practices, combining collection and research to trace and crack down on illicit crypto transactions.

The study sheds light on the dynamic challenges faced by law enforcement in maintaining an effective intelligence response to the ever-evolving methods used by terrorist organizations in using cryptocurrencies.

Given the many activities of Nigerian investors in the crypto ecosystem, this paper investigates the level of their awareness, attitudes, risk tolerance, experience, reasons for investing and level of financial literacy.

The research approach is based on a self-administered questionnaire. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) permitted the use of its reliable and validated survey instrument, administered in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam in 2019. The results are tabulated and analyzed.

The key results include the participation of respondents, who are generally young males, not fully financially literate but risk-averse. Many held the false view that investing in global markets is a higher risk than in national markets. Their reasons for investing in crypto include the fear of missing out on good opportunities and the desire to have fun. The results also revealed that social media, conversations with non-experts and online articles are among the most used investment information sources, highlighting the role of digital platforms and informal discussions in shaping perceptions and knowledge about cryptocurrencies. Investments in cryptos are financed through savings, regular monthly budgets or borrowed from friends or family. As for specific attitudes to risk, the results suggest that for most respondents, preserving their invested capital is of paramount importance.

The importance of this research also resides in the possibility of comparing the crypto ecosystem in Asia with Nigeria because the same OECD data instrument is employed in data collection. Moreover, this study is the most comprehensive research about Nigerian investors in cryptocurrencies.

Introduction: As internet and communication technologies are getting developed, the commercial transaction is becoming more electronic. This change also brings new approaches to new payment mechanisms like emergence of crypto currencies. They are virtual and digital currencies which can only be used in electronic environment but they are increasingly treated as a new payment and investment tool. Nevertheless, their use has not spread into the general public, yet. At this point, it will better to take the complex nature of the crypto currencies into consideration because it may still lead to some risks for people and the type of the risks perceived by consumers may influence their attitudes toward and intention to use crypto currencies.

Aim: Accordingly, this study attempts to examine the interaction between perceived risk, attitudes toward and intention to use crypto currencies within the context of Bitcoin, as the first crypto currency.

Method: This study was designed as a causal research. The sample of the study was reached by using convenience sampling method and data were collected with survey. The compiled data were tested with Structural Equation Model.

Findings: A statistically significant and negative relationship was found between perceived financial, time and psychological risk and attitudes toward the use of Bitcoin, and a statistically significant and positive relationship was found between attitudes toward and intention to use Bitcoin. The findings of the study are expected to contribute to both relevant literature and practice by explaining the financial behavior of the individuals within the context of perceived risk theory.

Free banking theory, as developed in Adam Smith’s 1776 treatise, “The Wealth of Nations” is a useful tool in determining the extent to which the “invisible hand of the market” should prevail in regulatory policy. The purpose of this study is to provide a timely review of the literature, evaluating the theory’s relevance to regulation of financial technology generally and cryptocurrencies (cryptos) specifically.

The methodology is qualitative, applying free banking theory as developed in the literature to technology-defined environments. Recent legislative developments in the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the UK, European Union and the USA, are drawn upon.

Participants in volatile cryptocurrency markets should bear the consequences of inadvisable investments in accordance with free banking theory. The decentralised nature of cryptocurrencies and the exchanges on which these are traded militate against coordinated oversight by central banks, supporting a qualified free banking approach. Differences regarding statutory definitions of cryptos as units of exchange, tokens or investment securities and the propensity of these to transition between categories across the business cycle render attempts at concerted classification at the international level problematic. Prevention of criminality through extension of Suspicious Activity Reporting to exchanges and intermediaries should be the principal objective of policymakers, rather than definitions of evolving products that risk stifling technological innovation.

The study proposes that instead of a traditional regulatory approach to cryptos, which emphasises holders’ safety and compensation, a free banking approach combined with a focus on criminality would be a more effective and pragmatic way forward.

This chapter discusses legal considerations relating to digital assets. The legal aspects of tokenized and non-tokenized assets are evolving. Although some states have enacted specific laws or regulations for digital assets, Congress and federal agencies have been slower to craft specific rules and regulations for such assets. As a result, regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Internal Revenue Service, and market participants must apply existing guidance to digital assets. This chapter examines applying specific aspects of federal securities and tax law to digital assets. It also discusses general business law considerations for blockchain and cyber enterprises. The discussion of state law applications centers on the New York Virtual Currency License and Wyoming and Delaware crypto initiatives. This chapter does not provide a comprehensive review of all legal issues related to cryptocurrency. Each legal issue about cryptocurrency is complex and requires separate analyses.