Rapture #280: HK Trading Begins, CCP Further Embraces Crypto, TVL of Select Projects Increasing

There have been many big news items coming out of the far East this past week. Hong Kong is indeed officially opening up crypto trading for retail and Beijing released a white paper for Web 3 innovation.

Separately, despite prices being materially down, the TVL of my altcoins are starting to pick up significantly.

Let's dive into each item.

Hong Kong opening up crypto trading for retail

On May 23rd, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) announced that licensed crypto platforms will be able to serve retail investors. Any platform willing to comply with the SFC's guidelines can apply for a license.

These guidelines include segregation of client assets, cybersecurity standards, and asset safety custody requirements. The SFC has already received 152 submissions for a license during the consultation periods. Any entity not willing to comply with these guidelines will need to close their business operations in Hong Kong.

Leading crypto exchanges Huobi, OKX, and Gate.io have commenced retail crypto trading for clients in Hong Kong on certain trading pairs. Each one of these exchanges had already applied for a license.

In my opinion, this move represents the grand official opening of crypto in China. The flows coming from the far East will likely help drive prices up in the early stages of this bull cycle.

Beijing whitepaper on Web 3 innovation and development

Yet Hong Kong is not the only Chinese jurisdiction further embracing crypto. The CCP under the leadership of Xi Jingping recently has been clearly signaling they are warming up to the asset class. In fact, Beijing's municipal government released a white paper at the Zongguancun forum. This white paper states that Web3 technology is an inevitable trend for future internet industry development.

The commission releasing this white paper intends to allocate at least 100 million yuan ($14 million) annually until 2025.

Even state-owned China Central Television recently aired a cryptocurrency segment prominently featuring Bitcoin and a Bitcoin ATM.

While the US continues to crack down on the crypto industry, China is taking a radically different approach. I am interested to see if China's policy changes affect how the US treats crypto. These moves further solidify my thesis discussed in previous Raptures of how crypto is rapidly becoming a geopolitical medium for power projection between China and the US.

TVL of altcoins starting to increase

While price action has been disappointing to say the least, usage of the altcoins I have allocated to is starting to show some serious signs of life.

Pendle's TVL has basically been up only since the start of May, increasing around 12%. Additionally, after a brutal loss in TVL in April, Timeless Finance's TVL is almost back to all time highs.

Finally, Conic's TVL is on a steady rise and now sits at over $101.5 million.

I am far more comfortable stomaching downside volatility when I see adoption increasing for the projects behind my altcoins.

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