On December 12, optimistic sentiment swept through the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin once again standing above 0.1 million USD. As of the time of writing, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$it fell by 0.46% to 100,649.51 USD, with an increase of over 3% in 24 hours; $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$it rose by 2.54% to 3,929.19 USD.

The Hong Kong stock market's cryptocurrency spot and Futures ETF also saw an upward trend. $Bosera HashKey Ether ETF (03009.HK)$ 、 $ChinaAMC Ether ETF (03046.HK)$ 、 $CSOP Ether Futures ETF (03068.HK)$ 、 $Harvest Ether Spot ETF (03179.HK)$ Increased by over 7%. $Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF (03135.HK)$ 、 $Bosera HashKey Bitcoin ETF (03008.HK)$ Increased by more than 3%.

Key focus

• The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released its quarterly report, stating that the market cap of virtual asset spot ETFs has increased by over 70% from its launch in April to the end of November.

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) today published its Quarterly Report, which indicated that the Hong Kong ETF market continues to grow, with the total market cap of ETFs increasing by 34% year-on-year, recording a net inflow of 6.3 billion HKD during the quarter.

The SFC is reviewing license applications from 15 virtual asset trading platforms (11 of which are licensed operators). Under this year's expedited licensing scheme, several licensed operators have been enabled to launch in Hong Kong. The market cap of Asian virtual asset spot ETFs has increased by over 70% from their launch in April to the end of November, with daily trading volume multiplying. Furthermore, the Hong Kong SFC noted that during the July to September quarter, it also placed 10 entities on a warning list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms.

• The case against NVIDIA for allegedly misleading investors about its sales impact in the crypto market will continue to be heard.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected NVIDIA's appeal regarding a class-action lawsuit by investors, which accused NVIDIA of misleading shareholders about the impact of the cryptocurrency market on its sales. This means the case will continue to be heard in lower courts. The case originated from two investor lawsuits in 2018, accusing NVIDIA of irresponsibly misleading investors about the correlation between revenue growth and cryptocurrency performance.

Investors claim that NVIDIA and its executives made seriously misleading statements, downplaying the impact of the turbulent cryptocurrency market on its revenue growth and overstating its adaptability to market changes. Previously, an appellate court allowed at least part of the merged case to continue. Notably, in 2022, NVIDIA reached a $5.5 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for concealing the connection between its success and the volatile cryptocurrency market. In the settlement, NVIDIA did not admit to any wrongdoing.

• Is the cryptocurrency market welcoming bullish news again? A cryptocurrency figure has become a popular candidate for the CFTC chair.

It has been reported that Brian Quintenz, a former member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has become the top contender for the CFTC chairmanship, which could lead to significant changes in cryptocurrency regulation under Trump’s leadership. Quintenz currently leads the digital assets division of venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, a16z Crypto.

Sources say the Trump team has completed interviews for the CFTC chair position and is expected to announce a candidate in the coming days. If selected, Quintenz would serve as a bridge between the digital asset and traditional financial worlds. Before joining the CFTC, he founded and led the hedge fund Saeculum Capital Management and worked on Capitol Hill.

• MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings have now reached a paper profit exceeding 17 billion USD.

According to the latest $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ holdings report, it currently holds 423,650 BTC at an average price of approximately 42.85 billion USD, with an average cost of 60,389 USD. Based on the current Bitcoin price of 101,012.64 USD, MicroStrategy's Bitcoin holdings have now achieved a paper profit exceeding 17 billion USD, reaching 17,269,515,712.79 USD.

• Microsoft will continue to monitor trends and developments related to Cryptos to guide future decisions.

According to disclosures from the Microsoft Board of Directors in regulatory documents, $Microsoft (MSFT.US)$ the proposal to refuse investment in Bitcoin was based on the company's existing diversified investment options and management processes, with no need to publicly assess Bitcoin investment. Microsoft emphasized that the volatility of Bitcoin poses challenges to financial stability, and the company needs more stable and predictable investments to ensure liquidity and operational funding.

Microsoft reiterated that its strong financial management mechanism is designed to maximize the long-term interests of Shareholders. Additionally, Microsoft pointed out that it had previously considered Cryptos like Bitcoin as one of its options, and it will continue to monitor trends and developments related to Cryptos to guide future decisions.

• Chen Haolian stated that the Hong Kong Forex Fund does not rule out individual investments involving Cryptos, but the related proportion is very small.

According to a news release from the Hong Kong government, during today's meeting of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, member Wu Jiezhuang asked Secretary Chen Haolian of the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau whether the Hong Kong government would consider including digital Assets and Cryptos in its fiscal reserves and whether it would consider using the Forex Fund to continue purchasing and holding them for the long term. The inquiry also included whether there was an assessment and study on the impact of foreign countries designating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset on the financial security of China and Hong Kong (for example, whether it would exert pressure on the Hong Kong dollar system and the economic situation in Hong Kong in the long run), what those impacts might be, and what measures the government would take in response, including whether it would leverage Hong Kong's first-mover advantage and unique resource conditions in the field of Cryptos to make strategic deployments that contribute to maintaining national financial security?

Chen Haolian replied that the Hong Kong Forex Fund invests in globally diversified Asset categories and markets to mitigate risks and enhance long-term returns. Although Cryptos are not target Assets for Forex Fund investments, the Monetary Authority's external investment managers also invest in globally diversified Asset categories and markets. It cannot be ruled out that there may be individual investments involving Cryptos during various investment operations by external managers, but the related proportion is very small. Furthermore, Chen Haolian revealed that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission announced several measures to promote the development of virtual Assets in Hong Kong this October, which includes a rapid licensing process related to virtual Asset trading platforms and the establishment of a consultation group for licensed platforms. The relevant consultation group is expected to be launched early next year.

• Blackrock and Fidelity ETFs purchased $0.5 billion worth of ETH in the past two days.

According to The Block, data from crypto data tracking platform Arkham shows that financial giants Blackrock and Fidelity's ETFs have purchased $0.5 billion worth of Ethereum in the past two days. These two companies mainly made their purchases through the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase or its institutional crypto service platform, Coinbase Prime.

According to The Block's data dashboard, Blackrock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH are among the leading Ethereum spot ETFs, and they led the historical highest fund inflow on November 30th. On December 10th, the trading volume of ETHA and FETH reached $0.3724 billion and $1.037 billion, respectively.

• Riot Platforms completed a note issuance of $0.525 billion to provide funding support for purchasing Bitcoin.

According to Cryptoslate, Bitcoin mining company $Riot Platforms (RIOT.US)$ On December 11, the company submitted documents to the SEC, indicating that it has successfully completed a $0.525 billion priority note issuance. These notes, maturing in 2030, carry an interest rate of 0.75% and were privately issued to institutional investors. The note terms specify that starting in 2029, investors have the right to convert them into Riot's common stock, and under specific conditions outlined in the issuance terms, investors may also convert them early. The proceeds will primarily be used to advance the company's Bitcoin acquisition strategy, further expanding its holdings.

Prior to this strategic action, Riot had spent $68.45 million to purchase 705 Bitcoins. With this latest investment, the total amount of Bitcoin held by the company has now reached 0.012 million coins, valued at approximately $1.2 billion at current market prices. This makes Riot the second-largest public mining company by Bitcoin holdings, second only to Marathon Digital, which currently holds over 0.04 million Bitcoins.

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Editor/rice