In short
Inventory exchanges in Hong Kong and India have rejected corporations making an attempt to pivot to Bitcoin treasury methods, with none receiving regulatory approval in latest months.
Consultants have questioned if digital-asset treasuries are justified, warning they danger turning into “volatility arbitrage shells disguised as leveraged Bitcoin performs” that hurt retail traders.
Jetking Infotrain’s Siddarth Bharwani says “lack of readability is inflicting founders to maneuver away offshore” as Asian regulatory fragmentation persists.
Main Asian inventory exchanges are rejecting companies pivoting into digital-asset treasuries, a clampdown consultants say is required to stop markets from being uncovered to “extreme volatility dangers.”
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing has rejected the purposes of 5 companies searching for to undertake Bitcoin treasury methods in latest months, in line with folks acquainted with the plans, Bloomberg reported.
India’s Bombay Inventory Change final month denied India’s first publicly listed firm making an attempt to undertake the Bitcoin customary, Jetking Infotrain’s, itemizing utility after the IT coaching firm deliberate to allocate 60% of raised funds to Bitcoin.
In Australia, the ASX bars listed corporations from protecting over half of their belongings in money or cash-like holdings, successfully ruling out DAT pivots.
Joshua Chu, lawyer, lawyer, lecturer, and co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Affiliation, informed Decrypt that fragmentation throughout Asian jurisdictions will doubtless persist as a result of every market prioritizes distinct coverage aims.
“Singapore’s regulatory emphasis facilities on funds and the regulated use of tokenized fee devices, whereas Hong Kong’s improvement is extra product-centric, specializing in governance, investor safety, and the regulatory remedy of crypto-enabled choices inside capital markets,” Chu defined.
“India pursues a a lot stricter stance on crypto rebrands and associated actions, and Australia maintains a cautious, market-conduct-oriented posture in its alternate frameworks,” he added.
The crackdown comes after retail traders misplaced an estimated $17 billion on digital-asset treasury trades, in line with a latest 10X Analysis report.
Corporations adopting Bitcoin treasury technique
The pushback comes as tons of of corporations globally have adopted the Bitcoin treasury mannequin pioneered by Michael Saylor’s Technique Inc., which now holds over 640,000 BTC value roughly $70 billion.
This week, Citi gave Technique a “purchase” ranking with a $485 worth goal however warned the inventory “presents vital dangers as a result of its positioning as a leveraged proxy for Bitcoin,” noting even average Bitcoin worth declines can result in magnified shareholder losses.
On prediction market Myriad, launched by Decrypt’s dad or mum firm Dastan, customers overwhelmingly anticipate Technique to remain the course on its Bitcoin acquisition spree, putting solely a 7% likelihood on the agency promoting any Bitcoin this yr.
“The elephant within the room is are DATs actually justified?” Chu questioned, noting “with out a credible enterprise case, rigorous governance, strong custody, and clear danger controls, such DAT buildings can grow to be misaligned with shareholder pursuits and will invite the sort of liquidity and governance dangers regulators fear about.”
He warned towards loosening conventional company guidelines for crypto treasuries, noting they defend towards “volatility arbitrage shells disguised as leveraged Bitcoin performs” that led to the latest retail losses.
Conventional company guidelines ought to nonetheless govern digital-asset treasuries,” Chu mentioned, warning that loosening them dangers a repeat of the dot-com period’s “speculative frenzy with out income backing.
Siddarth Bharwani, JMD and CFO of Jetking Infotrain, informed Decrypt the corporate’s enchantment to the Securities Appellate Tribunal following BSE’s rejection “is not about confrontation—it is about clarification.”
He known as the rejection “a missed alternative to discover how Indian listed corporations can responsibly innovate” with Bitcoin in ways in which add long-term shareholder worth.
“India is exclusive in its challenges,” Bharwani mentioned, noting that whereas there’s demand for digital belongings and flourishing ecosystems being constructed, “an absence of readability is inflicting founders to maneuver away offshore.”
International locations like Japan and the UAE are creating regulatory frameworks, he added, whereas India, Hong Kong and Australia “must overtly help such improvements.”
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