Bitcoin's price on Coinbase reached $27,500 on Tuesday, coinciding with positive news from Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) that registered exchanges will allow retail investors to trade BTC and ETH from 1 June.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has announced that it will accept applications for crypto trading platform licenses starting from June 1. The SFC will allow licensed virtual asset providers to serve retail investors, but only if operators assess their understanding of the risks involved. The guidelines also require crypto exchanges to maintain a minimum of HKD 5,000,000 in capital and submit monthly reports to the SFC. The revised guidelines, which include clarifications on anti-money laundering requirements and criteria for fining platforms for breaching them, will come into force on June 1.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission will announce the consultation conclusions on retail participation in cryptocurrency trading at its briefing on Tuesday. Hong Kong is expected to announce that retail investors can trade cryptocurrencies under new rules for the digital asset industry, with individual investors expected to trade more tokens such as BTC and ETH from June with appropriate safeguards in place.

The Tron community has reported that TRX may soon be accepted as legal tender in Hong Kong, which could lead to increased demand and support a positive outlook. However, TRX is currently overbought and may face selling pressure. Despite this, investor confidence remains high and TRX's on-chain volume has reached its highest level in four weeks.

Forkast.News has released a two-part series investigating the potential of Hong Kong and other emerging crypto hubs in Asia. Hong Kong, which is ranked third for ease of doing business, has been at the forefront of the Web3 narrative since announcing initiatives to attract digital asset businesses.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has launched a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), e-HKD, involving 16 banks and payment processors. The participants will test the effectiveness of the currency in various scenarios, including offline payments, tokenized deposits, settlement of blockchain transactions, and tokenized assets. The pilot project is expected to last for six months, with the findings to be released in November. The e-HKD is a digital solution for retail customers and will be accessible to all residents of Hong Kong as it is a digitized form of legal tender fully backed by the government and regulated by the HKMA.

Greenland Holdings' subsidiary, Greenland Financial Technology Group, is seeking a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong, making it the first state-owned Chinese company to do so. The company plans to set up a new unit dedicated to virtual asset trading and apply for licensing in Hong Kong. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) requires virtual asset trading platforms to have a license to operate or market themselves in the region, and the new Greenland unit plans to trade cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and products related to carbon emissions. Hong Kong is positioning itself as a digital asset market hub and is attracting interest from companies such as Huobi Global and OKX.

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission is set to release guidelines for crypto exchanges as the city prepares to become the crypto hub of Asia. However, regulators have warned that crypto firms should not expect any leniency in the regulatory approach. From June 1, Hong Kong plans to introduce a licensing regime for crypto service providers, allowing investors to trade major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The city's regulators are also working on introducing a licensing regime for stablecoins by 2023-2024.

Artifact Labs, a Hong Kong-based non-fungible token (NFT) company, has raised $3.25 million in its seed financing round led by Blue Pool Capital and Animoca Ventures. The company, which is a spinoff of Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post, plans to use the funds to expand operations and increase its technical headcount. Artifact Labs aims to release NFT collections as a revenue stream for preservation organizations and drive engagement with historically significant collections using Web3. The company previously partnered with RMS Titanic Inc. to mint NFTs based on physical artifacts recovered from the sunken ship. Gary Liu, founder of Artifact Labs, has emphasized the importance of NFTs possessing intrinsic value beyond endorsement by a group of people.

Chinese officials have drafted a proposal on how to handle crypto-related financial trials, expressing concern about the risks of cryptocurrencies. The proposal relates to the validity of legal acts related to cryptocurrencies, stating that crypto assets have some attributes of network virtual property and if used to settle debts, would be recognized as valid. However, investment contracts entered after Sept. 4, 2017, and any related contracts after the mining ban would be recognized as invalid. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is working to become more accommodating to crypto businesses and aims to become an "international virtual asset center." Despite China's ban on crypto, businesses have found ways to operate, and officials are optimistic about the potential of the metaverse industry.