Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission approves Solana spot ETF, expanding crypto ETF offerings beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. The approval aligns with Hong Kongs broader regulatory roadmap which includes enabling staking services for ETFs and licensed platforms. In April 2025, SFC permitted staking of up to 30% of Ethereum holdings in spot ETH ETFs.
High impact🇭🇰 Hong KongETFLicensingSOL
APAC FINSTAB analysis
For APAC operators, this creates a high-impact signal around etf, licensing in Hong Kong. Protocols/assets in scope: SOL. Teams should monitor the original source, map the change to licensing, custody, disclosure, and market-access obligations, and update their jurisdiction playbooks before the next compliance review.
Compliance read-through: map this event to entity licensing, market-access, custody, disclosure, token listing, and operational-risk obligations before expanding or marketing in the affected jurisdiction.
The AIFC Court granted AFSA injunctions barring Coinbase, BingX, Bitcoin.com, HTX, BitMart and WEEX from offering or advertising digital-asset services within the AIFC without authorisation. The action raises immediate geofencing, marketing, onboarding and wind-down control requirements for platforms serving the jurisdiction.
High impact🇰🇿 KazakhstanEnforcementLicensingRegulation
Google Ads updated its UAE financial-services advertising policy, requiring advertisers promoting crypto exchanges, wallets, CFDs or forex services to hold a CMA, DFSA, FSRA or VARA licence and complete Google certification from 21 October. The change ties customer-acquisition eligibility to licence scope, target geography and advertising disclosures.
ASIC commenced consultation on proposed guidance and standards for Australia's Digital Assets Framework, which begins on 8 April 2027. The package covers licensing, customer disclosures, asset holding, trading and settlement standards, and financial requirements for digital asset and tokenised custody platforms.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is reportedly pursuing regulatory action against Coins.ph over alleged restricted offshore gambling flows. A license action would directly affect local peso-stablecoin liquidity, merchant screening, and exchange AML controls.
High impact🇵🇭 PhilippinesRegulationLicensingExchangeAMLUSDT