Wu Shuo Weekly Highlights: FTX Chinese Creditor Claims Face Obstacles, Hong Kong Releases OTC Consultation Paper, RMB Stablecoin Sparks Discussion, and Top 10 News

Top 10 News This Week

1. Hong Kong Announces Consultation Paper Involving OTC

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) released a consultation paper showing that whether it is small transactions such as virtual currency trading, withdrawals, and fiat currency exchange, or complex activities such as brokerage and large transactions, a license must be applied for from the SFC. This is equivalent to including virtual asset over-the-counter (OTC) platforms under regulation, and the requirements are much stricter than the requirements for OTC platforms to apply for licenses from the Customs and Excise Department during last year's consultation. This includes a minimum paid-up share capital of 5,000,000 yuan for transaction service providers and 10,000,000 yuan for custodians, and they must also have two responsible persons approved by the SFC.

2. RMB Stablecoin Sparks Discussion

In an exclusive interview with China Business News, Huang Yiping, Dean of the National School of Development at Peking University and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China, said that virtual assets, digital assets, and traditional financial assets will coexist and integrate with each other for a long time, and digital assets are a major trend. It is very difficult to promote stablecoins in mainland China because the capital account is not fully liberalized. It is a possibility to create a stablecoin pegged to the offshore RMB in Hong Kong.

Xiao Feng, Chairman of HashKey Group, said that it is possible to consider connecting the RMB stablecoin with the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the People's Bank of China to form a two-tier structure and allow licensed stablecoin issuers to open CBDC accounts. This structure can combine the experience and technical achievements of the central bank in CBDC research and development while mobilizing market forces. Moreover, allowing the central bank's digital currency to become a wholesale-level digital currency and the RMB stablecoin to play a role in retail and cross-border payments will greatly accelerate the internationalization of the RMB.

JD.com and Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba, are suggesting that the People's Bank of China approve the issuance of RMB-based stablecoins. Sources say that JD.com and Ant Group have suggested that China allow the launch of stablecoins pegged to the offshore RMB in Hong Kong.

3. FTX Applies to Court to Implement Restricted Handling Procedures in 49 Jurisdictions, Which May Affect the Rights and Interests of Creditors to Compensation

Sunil, a representative of FTX creditors, tweeted that FTX has applied to the court for approval to implement a new "restricted handling procedure" in 49 jurisdictions with restricted distribution. FTX will seek legal advice, and if distribution to potential restricted jurisdictions is possible, compensation will be paid normally. Otherwise, the restricted handling procedure will be initiated, and creditors will lose their distribution rights. These jurisdictions with restricted distribution account for approximately 5% of the total amount of claims, of which Chinese claims account for 82% of the value.

4. Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan: A National Crypto Reserve Will Be Established

Timur Suleimenov, Chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, stated that Kazakhstan will establish a national crypto reserve and is studying the possibility of entrusting the construction and management functions to a subsidiary of the National Bank. The national crypto reserve will refer to international experience in sovereign wealth fund management, emphasizing transparent asset accounting and management, and the security and sustainability of the reserve. Its sources may include confiscated crypto assets and cryptocurrencies mined with state participation. The relevant mechanisms will be further developed with law enforcement agencies and state bodies.

5. Goldman Sachs Expects the Federal Reserve to Start Cutting Interest Rates in September, with a Cumulative Rate Cut of 75 Basis Points for the Year

Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos wrote that Goldman Sachs has moved its expectation for the Federal Reserve's first interest rate cut from December to September, and expects three interest rate cuts throughout the year, totaling 75 basis points. Goldman Sachs pointed out that initial signs indicate that the impact of tariffs is lower than expected, while other disinflationary factors are stronger, and believes that the Federal Reserve's senior management most likely also believes that tariffs will only bring about a one-time increase in the price level.

6. The First Spot Solana Staking ETF in the United States Has a Turnover of $33.00 Million on Its First Day

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted that the first approved spot staking crypto ETF in the United States, the "REX-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF," was launched on Wednesday with a turnover of approximately $33.00 million. Its performance far exceeded that of the Solana futures ETF and XRP futures ETF, and was also better than the average first-day level of ordinary ETFs, but it was still significantly lower than the first-day trading performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs.

7. Listed Companies Purchased a Total of 245,510 Bitcoin in the First Half of 2025, Approximately Twice That of ETFs in the Same Period

Data shows that listed companies purchased a total of 245,510 Bitcoin in the first half of 2025, approximately twice the amount absorbed by ETFs in the same period, an increase of 375% compared to the same period in 2024, highlighting the significant increase in the acceptance of Bitcoin in corporate financial strategies. Among them, Strategy's purchase volume was 135,600, accounting for 55%, a significant decrease from 72% in the same period last year. Market analysis points out that the motivations for companies to purchase coins include hedging against inflation, optimizing cross-border liquidity, and brand strategic synergy, and they have tax and accounting advantages.

8. Circle Applies to Establish a National Trust Bank, Intending to Self-Custody $USDC Reserves and Expand Custody Services

Stablecoin company Circle has applied to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national trust bank, "First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A.," as part of its expansion of financial services after its listing. If approved, the license will allow Circle to self-custody $USDC reserves and provide digital asset custody services to institutional clients, but will not include the authority to accept deposits or issue loans. Circle stated that future custody focus will be on assets such as tokenized stocks and bonds, rather than traditional cryptocurrencies.

9. Binance Avoids Regulatory Tightening, Retains Hundreds of Singapore Remote Employees

Despite Singapore's increased regulation of unlicensed crypto companies, Binance plans to retain hundreds of employees who work remotely in Singapore. These employees are mainly engaged in back-office compliance, human resources, data analysis, and technical support, and do not directly provide services to Singaporean customers, so they are not restricted by the new regulations. According to the latest requirements of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, from June 30, companies registered in Singapore or with a place of business that provide digital asset services to overseas customers must obtain a license or cease relevant business.

10. Ethereum at a Crossroads, Vitalik Warns that Decentralization Cannot Be Reduced to Empty Talk

At the Ethereum Community Conference held in France, Vitalik Buterin stated that Ethereum is at a critical turning point. If decentralization remains only at the level of slogans, it may become an empty promise and eventually be eliminated by the times. He proposed three test standards: first, the "walk-away test," that is, whether users can still control assets after the project party disappears; second, the "insider attack test," which measures the damage that may be caused by internal personnel doing evil or the front end being breached; and third, the "trusted computing base," which is the minimum amount of code required to ensure the security of user funds and data.

Key Financing Events

• YZi Labs Announces Participation in Digital Asset's Latest $135.00 Million Series E Financing
• Boba Network Receives $70.00 Million in Funding and Reaches BOBA Token Agreement with FTX Recovery Trust
• Paradigm Leads Exclusive $15.00 Million Series A Financing for Decentralized Exchange Startup GTE
• UK Cloud Mining Platform TWL Miner Completes $95.00 Million Series B Financing
• TON's Main Application Developer The Open Platform Announces Completion of $28.50 Million Series A Financing
• Amber International Announces Completion of $25.50 Million Private Placement
• AI Model Marketplace Platform OpenRouter Announces Completion of $40.00 Million Seed and Series A Financing
• The Smarter Web Completes £41.20 Million Financing
• Crypto Startup Zama Announces Completion of $57.00 Million Series B Financing
• Inference Labs Announces Completion of $6.30 Million Financing
• Web3 Game Developer Spekter Games Announces Completion of $5.00 Million Pre-Seed Financing
• DeFi Project inshAllah Announces Completion of $2.10 Million Financing
• Swedish Game Studio Cold River Games Announces Completion of $2.00 Million Financing