Coinbase allegedly launching a derivatives exchange in Bermuda; Tesla continues to hold its Bitcoins; Hong Kong court defines crypto as property.
Coinbase, the largest US cryptocurrency exchange, plans to launch an exchange in Bermuda in the coming weeks.
According to Fortune’s report, the exchange has acquired a license to operate in Bermuda. The company is focused on increasing its operations outside the US.
The company announced that it has obtained a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. People close to Coinbase have claimed that the exchange will launch an offshore derivatives exchange in the country next week.
Pressure from regulators has affected Coinbase
Increasing regulator pressure in the US caused Coinbase to shift its focus to other countries. The CEO of the company, Brian Armstrong, said that the headquarters of the stock market could move to other countries in the future.
“The US has the potential to be an important market in the cryptocurrency sector. But we need regulatory clarity right now. If regulatory clarity in the country does not occur for a few more years, we may need to consider further investment in other parts of the world.”
The exchange had recently received a Wells Notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Despite Armstrong’s statements, it is unlikely that the stock market will leave the United States. The company continues to take new steps to work in harmony with regulators.
Coinbase’s move to open an exchange in Bermuda reveals that the company may also turn its direction to regions such as Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore. Many cryptocurrency companies have opened offices in these regions.
Tesla continues to hold its Bitcoins
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla has announced its first-quarter earnings report.
According to the report, the company continued to hold Bitcoins in its hands and did not make a new Bitcoin purchase.
According to the news of Reuters, Tesla has recently implemented an aggressive discount policy in order to increase demand and prevent increasing competition due to global economic problems. Due to this policy of Tesla, the earnings report took place at different levels than the estimates.
14 analysts had expected Tesla to make 22.4% gross profit. However, compared to estimates, Tesla announced its gross profit margin as 19.3%. Shares of the Texas-based electric car giant slid nearly 4%.
Elon Musk stated that they could go for a discount to increase the volume due to the general recession in the markets. After this announcement, Tesla decided to lower prices several times in the US, China and other markets.
According to analysts, Tesla believes that Tesla may have to cut prices further due to continued pressure in China.
The company, which bought Bitcoin worth about $ 1.5 billion in February 2021, announced that it sold some of these assets in the following periods.
Tesla currently has 11,950 Bitcoins. The electric vehicle giant has announced that it is not selling these assets.
Hong Kong court defines crypto as property
A court in Hong Kong has said in a ruling on Gatecoin, a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, that cryptocurrencies are properties that can be held securely.
In a ruling analysis released by law firm Hogan Lovells, Judge Linda Chan said that cryptocurrencies have property attributes. The court stated that it would be appropriate to follow the reasoning put forward by other jurisdictions regarding cryptocurrencies as property.
According to Hogan Lovells, the new ruling could potentially provide Hong Kong bankruptcy courts with greater clarity in terms of digital assets. Confirming that cryptocurrency has a similar nature to other assets, such as stocks, is one factor that brings Hong Kong into line with other jurisdictions.
The lawsuit is about Gatecoin, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange that was the victim of a hack attack in 2016 and lost nearly $2 million. Gatecoin announced in March 2019 that it was forced to shut down by a Hong Kong court decision.