CMB International Securities Limited, a subsidiary of the China Merchants Bank (CMB) — one of China’s top banks — launched a cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong.

According to a Monday CMB WeChat announcement, the bank has started offering virtual asset trading services. The launch comes after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission approved the bank’s application for a virtual asset service provider license in mid-July.

CMB’s Hong Kong-based crypto exchange allows for 24/7 trading of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether’s USDt (USDT) for eligible investors. Documentation provided by the bank clarified that only professional investors are eligible for crypto trading services.

China Merchants Bank is one of the country’s largest banks, managing over $1.7 trillion worth of assets as of the end of March, according to Macrotrends data. The bank’s ordinary class A shares have a market capitalization of $153.16 billion.

Related: China cracks down on stablecoin promotions, research and seminars

Mainland China’s ban on crypto persists

CMB said it is the first Chinese bank–affiliated broker in Hong Kong to secure licenses tied to virtual asset trading services. The bank also noted plans to integrate traditional stock trading with digital assets and fintech applications.

Still, in Shenzhen, China — where the bank’s headquarters are located — such a service would be illegal. The Chinese government banned crypto trading in 2017, resulting in major sell-offs at the time.

Since then, Chinese authorities have continued to treat crypto trading as illegal in mainland China, leading some market participants to devise creative solutions.

Hong Kong operates under its own rules within China’s “one country, two systems” policy, and is increasingly emerging as a local crypto hub.

Related: Animoca and Standard Chartered form stablecoin venture in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: an emerging crypto hub

Hong Kong authorities appear to have made crypto regulation a high-priority part of their agenda. On the first day of this month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) finalized its regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers.

The introduction of the new rules led to stablecoin companies operating in Hong Kong posting double-digit losses on Aug. 1, just after they came into force. Analysts at the time described the sell-off as a healthy correction, as the requirements for stablecoin issuers proved to be more stringent than expected.

The new rules were rolled out in a six-month transition period starting from Aug. 1. The new Stablecoin Ordinance effectively criminalizes the offering or promotion of unlicensed fiat-referenced stablecoins to retail investors. Local authorities also launched a dedicated public license registry before the rules came into effect.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has warned that the introduction of the new local stablecoin regulatory framework has increased the risk of fraud. Last week, the SFC also issued immediate guidance on cryptocurrency custody standards, introducing sweeping security requirements and a ban on smart contracts in cold wallet implementations — a rule that conflicts with current practices at several leading firms.

Magazine: China to ban owning Bitcoin? Gate.io to pay $30M over liquidations: Asia Express

]]> https://earlybirdsinvest.com/china-merchants-bank-subsidiary-launches-crypto-exchange-in-hong-kong/feed/ 0 53827 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dcg-countersues-genesis-for-1-1b-after-subsidiary-claims-3-1b-damages/ https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dcg-countersues-genesis-for-1-1b-after-subsidiary-claims-3-1b-damages/#respond Sat, 16 Aug 2025 20:47:15 +0000 https://earlybirdsinvest.com/dcg-countersues-genesis-for-1-1b-after-subsidiary-claims-3-1b-damages/

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Anas Hassan

Crypto Journalist

Anas Hassan

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Anas is a crypto native journalist and SEO writer with over five years of writing experience covering blockchain, crypto, DeFi, and emerging tech.

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August 16, 2025

Digital Currency Group (DCG) has escalated its legal battle with bankrupt subsidiary Genesis Global Capital, filing a countersuit demanding $1.1 billion in promissory note relief and $105 million in alleged overpayments.

The move comes as Genesis pursues over $3.1 billion in damages against its parent company through multiple ongoing lawsuits.

Three Arrows Capital Collapse Sparks Corporate War

The conflict traces back to June 2022, when Three Arrows Capital defaulted on $2.36 billion in loans from Genesis.

DCG voluntarily issued a $1.1 billion promissory note to backstop potential losses from the hedge fund’s collapse.

The note contained automatic reduction provisions tied to any recoveries from Three Arrows Capital’s assets.

Genesis subsequently recovered nearly $2.8 billion from Three Arrows Capital, primarily through GBTC shares that surged from $428.5 million to over $2.1 billion by May 2024.

DCG claims these recoveries automatically reduced the promissory note’s principal to zero under the original agreement terms.

Despite the alleged principal reduction, DCG continued making payments totaling $106 million to Genesis under what it calls a “misapprehension” about the note’s remaining balance.

The parent company now seeks recovery of these funds plus interest through four legal counts, including declaratory judgment and unjust enrichment.

The legal warfare intensified following Genesis’s bankruptcy filing in January 2023 after accumulating $3.5 billion in debts.

Previously unsealed court documents reveal DCG executives feared Genesis could be treated as their “alter ego” as early as 2022, with CFO Michael Kraines warning about potential corporate veil piercing scenarios.

Genesis has mounted its own offensive, pursuing $2.2 billion in crypto assets through Delaware courts and over $1 billion in allegedly fraudulent transfers through the New York bankruptcy court.

The subsidiary claims DCG extracted $450 million in crypto assets and $297 million through international transfers while Genesis faced liquidity stress.

The Securities and Exchange Commission joined the fray in January 2025, fining DCG $38 million for securities violations and former Genesis CEO Michael Moro $500,000 for misleading investors about the company’s financial health following Three Arrows Capital’s collapse.

The regulatory action revealed DCG executives knew about over $1 billion in Genesis losses while portraying financial stability.

Corporate Control and Financial Engineering Allegations

Internal documents released by Genesis’s Litigation Oversight Committee paint DCG as treating its subsidiary like a “de facto treasury” while extracting value through insider loans and risky trades.

Genesis employees described a “culture of submission” where they served DCG’s interests over their own operational integrity.

DCG’s risk committee delayed its first meeting for nine months after formation, with Kraines later joking that the delay made his “future deposition easier.”

External auditors flagged “material weaknesses” at Genesis as early as 2020, yet the parent company allegedly continued extracting funds.

The committee alleges DCG orchestrated fraudulent transactions, including the June 2022 promissory note and a September round-trip deal designed to mask Genesis’s financial distress.

Genesis claims it was already insolvent by the end of 2021 despite carrying $14 billion in outstanding loans.

Consulting firm Oliver Wyman warned DCG about Genesis’s financial vulnerabilities in November 2021, but the parent company failed to implement corrective measures.

Instead, internal messages from 2022 indicate employees believed Genesis was being “propped up” so DCG could extract cash before the collapse.

Notably, Genesis has made substantial progress in returning funds to creditors despite the ongoing legal battles.

The company distributed $2.18 billion to approximately 232,000 users by May 2024, including through a pending $1.8 billion settlement with Gemini Earn participants.

DCG previously settled over $1 billion in debt, including $627 million owed to Genesis by January 2024, following a November 2023 agreement reached after Genesis sued for loan repayments.

The parent company had defaulted on over $620 million in debt by May 2023.

As it stands now, the multiple legal proceedings continue as both companies navigate bankruptcy restructuring, regulatory enforcement, and billions in creditor claims stemming from the 2022 crypto market collapse.

Metaplanet has announced that National Financial Services LLC (NFS), a subsidiary of Fidelity Investments, is now its largest shareholder.

In a July 15 disclosure, the firm revealed that NFS holds 84.4 million shares, equivalent to 12.9% of its total equity. Based on current valuations, this stake is worth approximately ¥121 billion or around $816 million.

As of March 31, NFS only held 1.91 million shares in Metaplanet.

NFS is a custodian for retail and institutional investors using Fidelity’s trading platforms. Fidelity is one of the 12 issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, with its FBTC fund managing around $25 billion in assets.

This dramatic increase reflects growing institutional and retail interest in the Japan-based firm, which is largely driven by its bold commitment to Bitcoin.

Earlier this month, Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich reported that Capital Group, another major US asset management firm overseeing $2.9 trillion in assets, disclosed a sizable position in Metaplanet. The firm reportedly owns 44.2 million shares, representing 6.6% of total ownership.

Georvich said these investments were evidence that the firm’s “shareholder base continues to evolve as global access expands.”

Bitcoin holdings surge amid stock headwinds

This institutional attention comes amid Metaplanet’s aggressive Bitcoin purchases over the past year.

According to Metaplanet’s data, the Japan-based firm holds 16,352 BTC, which was acquired for $1.6 billion. The significant holdings have yielded unrealized profits of more than $300 million.

The holdings have also positioned the firm as the fifth-largest public holder of Bitcoin, surpassing names like Tesla.

Despite this aggressive accumulation strategy, Metaplanet’s stock has faced recent headwinds. According to Yahoo Finance data, its shares are down over 24% in the past month, trading at around ¥1,436 after an 8% drop today.

Still, Metaplanet’s stock trading activity remains elevated.

Dylan LeClair, the company’s Director of Bitcoin Strategy, reported that the firm accounted for 29.2% of all Japanese yen-denominated trading volume on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Standard Market over the past 20 sessions.

This momentum follows a staggering 1,400% gain in the company’s stock price over the past year, reinforcing its profile as one of Japan’s most watched mid-cap stocks.

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