Hong Kong Mortgage Corp Weighs World’s Biggest Digital Bond Sale
Tokenization
”Hong Kong Mortgage Corp. is considering raising up to HK$12 billion (US$1.5 billion) through its first digital bond sale, according to people familiar with the matter, in what may turn out to be the biggest-ever such offering globally. The potential sale from the Hong Kong government-owned financial services provider comes as the city is looking to cement its role as a digital asset hub. Hong Kong Mortgage Corp., which has total assets of about HK$221.8 billion, is considering marketing the multi-tranche bonds denominated in Hong Kong dollars and offshore yuan as early as next month, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The size of the offering would be between HK$10 billion and HK$12 billion, the people said. The terms are under discussion and could change, they added.”
Source: Bloomberg
US Treasury Unveils Proposed Stablecoin Rules Targeting Money Laundering, Sanctions
Policy
“The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions agency and its financial crimes bureau released a joint rule proposal for stablecoin issuers to curb financial crimes, which Treasury Secretary Bessent said will protect the U.S., without stifling innovation. On Wednesday, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a rule as part of the new law, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins, or GENIUS. The proposed rule focused on countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) and anti-money laundering (AML). 'President Trump is strengthening American leadership in digital financial technology,' said Secretary Bessent in a statement. 'This proposal will protect the U.S. financial system from national security threats without hindering American companies’ ability to forge ahead in the payment stablecoin ecosystem.'”
Source: The Block
White House Economists Say Stablecoin Rewards Won’t Harm Banks
Stablecoins
“Banning crypto firms from offering customers yield on stablecoins would not have a meaningful effect on community banks, White House economists said in a report on Wednesday - marking the latest development in a fierce conflict between the two industries that has stalled legislation in Congress. Prohibiting such rewards would only boost traditional lending marginally — by 0.02%, or $2.1 billion — most of which would come from large banks rather than community lenders, according to the report by the Council of Economic Advisers. 'The conditions for finding a positive welfare effect from prohibiting yield are simply implausible,' the report states. 'In short, a yield prohibition would do very little to protect bank lending, while forgoing the consumer benefits of competitive returns on stablecoin holdings.'”
Source: Bloomberg
Standard Chartered Weighs Integrating Zodia Custody With Corporate Bank Arm
Adoption
“Standard Chartered is considering a restructuring that would fold parts of its majority-owned crypto custody subsidiary into the bank's existing digital asset operations, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the discussions. The discussions involve merging overlapping custody operations while allowing Zodia Custody to continue offering crypto custody as a standalone software-as-a-service platform, the sources said. Standard Chartered originally established Zodia Custody in late 2020 in partnership with Northern Trust Corp., and the venture has since attracted minority institutional investors, including Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, National Australia Bank Ltd. and SBI Holdings Inc.”
Source: The Block
Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF Began Trading. An Analyst Put it in The Top 1% of ETF Launches
ETPs
“The spot ETF, which features an industry low with a sponsor fee of 0.14%, saw over $25 million in trading volume in its first half day of trading. In an X post, Bloomberg senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas put MSBT’s debut in the top 1% of all ETF launches. The bank’s crypto plans don’t end with Bitcoin, either. Morgan Stanley also filed for Ethereum and Solana trusts in January. Bitcoin ETFs currently hold over $100 billion in cumulative assets under management as of Tuesday, according to data from CoinShares.”
Source: Fortune
