Asia is promoting clear crypto rules at a time when large businesses are facing regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
Some Asian countries that have taken the lead in crypto regulation include Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea. They have proposed or implemented frameworks that protect investors, prevent money laundering, and encourage innovation in the crypto industry.
Lack of clarity in U.S.
In contrast, the U.S. has been singled out for its lack of clarity and consistency in crypto regulation. The SEC for instance and other agencies have different views on how to classify and regulate crypto assets – take alook at the case with XRP and ripple of recent years.
Some industry leaders have threatened to leave the U.S. or sued the regulators over their actions. There is also a debate in Congress that could level crypto transactions with a tax.
Attractive
As a result, some analysts have suggested that Asia could become more attractive to investors and innovators in the crypto industry, as it offers more certainty and stability in the regulatory environment.
However, there are also challenges and risks involved in crypto regulation, such as balancing security and innovation, ensuring compliance and enforcement, and dealing with cross-border issue.
UK to unleash £50 billion in pension funding for tech startups
The U.K. government has unveiled a series of reforms that will allow pension funds to invest more in private and high-growth companies, especially in the tech sector. The move is expected to boost economic growth, support innovation and increase returns for future retirees.
The reforms include an agreement with the country’s largest defined contribution pension schemes to allocate 5% of assets in their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030. This could unlock up to £50 billion of investment in high-growth firms if all other defined contribution pension schemes follow suit, according to the government.
AI
The government will also create new investment vehicles that will give pensioners a stake in homegrown private companies, such as fintech and biotech startups, that have increasingly snubbed the London Stock Exchange and turned to foreign investors for cash. The aim is to make the U.K. a more attractive market for technology and a global leader in emerging fields like artificial intelligence.
The Treasury claimed that the reforms would not only help burgeoning industries, but could also result in higher returns for workers’ retirement funds. The government estimates that the average earner’s pension pot could rise up to 12% to as much as £16,000 with defined contribution pension schemes committing to more effective investments.
Unlock
The announcement comes amid criticism that the U.K. is losing its edge in technology and innovation, as evidenced by the recent decision of U.K. chip design giant Arm to list in New York rather than London. The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, reportedly said that he wanted to make the U.K. ‘the world’s next Silicon Valley and a science superpower’ by unlocking investment from the U.K.’s £2.5 trillion pensions sector.
The reforms were welcomed by industry groups and experts, who said that they would help address the funding gap faced by many U.K. startups and scale-ups, and create more opportunities for long-term growth and value creation.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META), formerly known as Facebook, has seen its stock price soar in 2023, a straight nine month gain in a massive turnaround after a dismal performance in 2022.
Meta is the parent company of social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, as well as the Oculus VR headset and other ventures.
Year of efficiency
Meta’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has declared 2023 as the ‘Year of Efficiency‘ for the company, as it tries to cut costs and streamline its operations. The company has also announced layoffs of about 10% of its workforce in 2022 and 2023, as part of its restructuring efforts.
Meta’s stock has almost doubled since January, making it among the top performers on the S&P 500. The company has also seen a boost in the number of daily active users on Facebook, reaching two billion as of the end of December 2022. Meta’s net worth is currently at $89.9 billion, making Zuckerberg the 12th wealthiest person on the planet, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
Surge
Meta’s stock surge comes after a sharp decline in 2022, when the company faced regulatory scrutiny, public backlash and technical glitches over its plans to expand into the metaverse, a virtual reality world where people can interact with each other and through digital content.
Meta’s stock plummeted by over 60% last year, as Zuckerberg struggled to sell Wall Street on his vision for the future of social media.
Future
Meta is still betting on the metaverse as its long-term goal, and has been investing heavily in AI, VR and AR technologies. The company is reportedly working on a new social media app called ‘Instagram for your thoughts‘, which would allow users to share their thoughts and emotions using brain-computer interfaces.
The app could launch as soon as next month, according to latest reports.
Apple shares previously failed to close at levels that would have given the company a market cap of $3 trillion, despite a promising intra-day move in January 2022.
Milestone
Apple has become the first publicly traded company ever to be worth $3 trillion. The company’s market valuation reached this milestone on January 3rd, 2022. Apple’s stock briefly eclipsed $182.86 a share before closing at $182.01. The milestone is mostly symbolic but it represents investor recognition of Apple’s success over the past few years as the company has reported several record-breaking quarters of big growth in all of its product lines.
Apple is not just a hardware player – it has an even bigger slice of the tech’ consumer pie than you may imagine, especially in the cloud computing arena.
Second time lucky
Apple has regained its $3 trillion valuation to become the first-listed company, in modern times, to reach the $3 trillion milestone again. It acheived this on 30th June 2023. Shares climbed more than 2% to hit a record $193.97. However, by direct comparison and by todays valuation, the East India Trading Company beat Apple to this accolade long-a-go in the 17th Century having acheived a higher value equivalent to $7 trillion in todays money.
Rolls-Royce share price soared by 20% in july 2023 after it raised its profit guidance and reported strong demand in its jet engine and defence businesses.
The company, which makes engines for aeroplanes, ships and submarines, repoertedly said it expects to make between £1.2 billion and £1.4 billion in underlying operating profit this year, up from its previous forecast of £800 million to £1 billion.
The profit upgrade reflects the improvement in Rolls-Royce’s operations under its new chief executive, who took over in January with a mandate to turn the companyaround. A transformation programme was launched to boost productivity, efficiency and innovation across all divisions. It appears to be working.
Drivers
One of the main drivers of Rolls-Royce’s recovery is the revival in air travel and flying hours as Covid restrictions were eased. The company charges customers for the number of hours its jet engines run, which have dramatically rebounded from the slump caused by the pandemic. Rolls-Royce said it expects to generate £750 million in free cash flow this year, up from its previous target of £500 million.
Another factor behind Rolls-Royce’s growth is the increased defence spending following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The company makes propulsion systems for Royal Navy warships and submarines, as well as engines for military aircraft. Rolls-Royce reportedly said its defence unit had delivered ‘exceptional‘ performance and secured new contracts.
Share price hits 52 week high!
Rolls-Royce’s share price hit its highest level since March 2020, when the prospect of travel bans caused aviation-related stocks to plunge. The stock has almost doubled in value this year, making it the best-performing stock on the FTSE 100 over the past six months.
Analysts and investors have welcomed the signs of progress at Rolls-Royce, which had struggled with profitability and cash flow issues even before the pandemic.
Rolls-Royce is scheduled to report its half-year results next week, which are expected to show profits of between £660 million and £680 million some analysts suggest, more than double market expectations. The company said it remains confident in its medium-term outlook and its ability to deliver value for customers and shareholders.
Definitely one to watch. It’s been on my ‘share radar’ for a couple years now. Share price hit intraday high of £1.94 on 28th July 2023
XRP, the native token of the blockchain company Ripple, soared more than 60% on Thursday after a U.S. judge delivered a major victory to the firm in its legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC had sued Ripple in December 2020, alleging that it had raised over $1.3 billion through the sale of XRP in an unregistered securities offering. The SEC claimed that XRP was an investment contract that gave buyers the expectation of profits based on Ripple’s efforts.
However, the Judge ruled that XRP was not a security “on its face” and that some aspects of its sale did not violate the federal securities laws.
Digital coin
The judge drew a distinction between the sales of XRP to institutional investors, which she said could constitute investment contracts, and the sales of XRP to the general public on exchanges, which did not.
Argument
The judge also denied Ripple’s argument that the SEC lacked jurisdiction over XRP transactions because they were not domestic, and agreed with the SEC that the Howey test, a four-pronged criteria to determine whether an asset is a security, applied to cryptocurrency transactions.
The ruling was welcomed by Ripple and its supporters, who argued that XRP was a utility token that facilitated cross-border payments and did not depend on Ripple’s efforts for its value.
Ripple’s chief legal officer, reportedly tweeted: “A huge win today – as a matter of law – XRP is not a security. Also, a matter of law – sales on exchanges are not securities. Sales by executives are not securities. Other XRP distributions – to developers, charities, and employees- are not securities.”
A lawyer representing over 19,000 XRP holders who intervened in the case, reportedly called on U.S. exchanges to relist XRP in solidarity with the decision.
Crypyo boost
The ruling also boosted the sentiment in the broader crypto market, as it suggested that the SEC did not have unlimited authority over digital assets and that some tokens could escape the securities classification.
‘Have you seen the news? Crypto might possibly could be going manstream.’ ‘Oh WOW! – What’s crypto?’
Crypto-related stocks such as Coinbase and crypto-coins such as ADA, HBAR, BITCOIN & ETH surged following the news.
More to come?
However, the case is not quite over yet, as the SEC said it would continue to review the decision and pursue its claims against Ripple for the sales of XRP to institutional investors.
The SEC also responded to the judge’s ruling by saying that it did not change its position that XRP was a security and that it would seek to prove that Ripple violated the securities laws in certain circumstances.
The outcome of the case could have significant implications for the crypto industry, as it could set a precedent for how other tokens are regulated and how other lawsuits are resolved.
