Evening News | John Lee attended the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association and delivered a speech; Weibo has supported the display of Bitcoin market data
Bitcoin breaks through $30,000, reaching a new high since June 2022; former Hong Kong Monetary Authority president Norman Chan becomes the president of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association.整理：Cookies, ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours"
1. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Attends the Inauguration Ceremony of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee stated during his speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association that he hopes the association will collaborate with the government to accelerate Hong Kong's innovation and financial development, increasing the quantity of talent and enterprises attracted to the city, and bringing more top-tier organizations to Hong Kong to showcase their capabilities. Web3.0 plays a key role in the development of fintech, and the government demonstrated an open attitude and firm determination by releasing a virtual asset policy declaration at the end of last year. Recently, several leading tech companies and high-tech startups are considering expanding their businesses in Hong Kong, including virtual asset trading platforms, blockchain infrastructure companies, virtual currency wallets, and payment enterprises, which are believed to contribute to the development of Web3.0. The government also aims to establish appropriate regulations for the market, implementing a new licensing system for virtual asset service providers in June to ensure a stable and orderly market development.
John Lee mentioned that President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to enhance technological self-reliance and continuously strengthen the country's technological capabilities. The 14th Five-Year Plan clearly supports Hong Kong in building an international innovation and technology center. Innovation and technology are key development areas for Hong Kong, and the development of Web3.0 is at a golden starting point, capable of changing existing business operation models while creating more new opportunities. Hong Kong should dare to be a leader in this wave of innovation. The budget announced earlier by the government allocated 50 million HKD to Cyberport to accelerate the development of Hong Kong's Web3.0 ecosystem, and Cyberport has also established a Web3 base. (Source link)
2. Douyin Launched Bitcoin Market Data Last Night but Has Since Taken It Down; Weibo Now Supports Bitcoin Market Data Display
On the evening of April 10, Douyin's app page indicated that it now supports Bitcoin market data queries. By around noon on April 11, Douyin's "Bitcoin" search page added a risk warning: "According to national regulations, unofficial virtual currencies do not have the same legal status as legal tender. Please invest cautiously." By around 4 PM on April 11, searching for "Bitcoin" in the Douyin app no longer displayed market data, retaining only the risk warning.
Bitcoin ranked 17th on Weibo's trending search list, and searching for "Bitcoin" on Weibo now displays Bitcoin market data, with data sourced from Sina Finance. (Source link)
3. Bitcoin Briefly Surpasses $30,000, Reaching a New High Since June 2022
According to OKX market data, Bitcoin briefly surpassed $30,000, reaching a new high since June 2022. The current price is $29,819, with a 24-hour increase of 4.88%. (Source link)
4. Former HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan Appointed President of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association
During the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association, Legislative Council Chairman Andrew Leung presented the appointment certificate of the President of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association to former HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan. Academician Chen Chun from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Li Feng, Chairman of China Mobile Hong Kong, and Chen Shaojie, Honorary President of the Internet Professional Association, were appointed as Honorary Presidents of the Hong Kong Web3.0 Association. Wang Yang, Vice President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was appointed as Chief Scientific Advisor, and former Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Chan Ka-keung was appointed as Chief Financial Advisor. (Source link)
5. Bank of America and Fidelity Both Have Indirect Bitcoin Exposure Through Increased Holdings in MicroStrategy Stocks in Q1
Bank of America and Fidelity held a significant amount of MicroStrategy stocks on their balance sheets in the first quarter, indicating that institutions still have an interest in indirect Bitcoin exposure. As of the end of March, Bank of America reported purchasing 86,147 shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) in the first quarter. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Fidelity increased its holdings by 97,199 shares during the same period.
Since MicroStrategy began holding Bitcoin as a reserve on its balance sheet, the company's stock price has closely tracked the price of Bitcoin. Many traders still view this stock as one of the closest publicly traded proxies for Bitcoin spot exposure. As of April 4, MicroStrategy holds 140,000 Bitcoins.
ChainCatcher previously reported that Bank of America Securities, Inc. and Fidelity Management & Research Company both became top 10 shareholders of MicroStrategy in the first quarter of 2023. (Source link)
6. Justin Sun: Huobi's Q1 Revenue is $150 Million
Justin Sun, a member of Huobi's Global Advisory Board, tweeted that Huobi's revenue for the first quarter was $150 million, with expenses of $120 million, resulting in a profit of $30 million. Huobi implemented significant cost-cutting and efficiency measures in the first quarter, and its exchange business is in a consolidation phase.
Additionally, Justin Sun conservatively predicts that Huobi's revenue for the second quarter will be $187 million, with expenses of $76 million, achieving a quarterly profit of $111 million. (Source link)
7. Bloomberg: Winklevoss Brothers Have Provided $100 Million Loan to Gemini
According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the Winklevoss brothers, co-founders of Gemini, recently provided a $100 million loan to Gemini to support the exchange's operations during a market downturn. Sources revealed that prior to providing this loan, the brothers had informally sought funding from external investors but did not reach any agreements.
Previously reported, after the collapse of FTX last year, Genesis, a crypto lending institution under DCG, suspended withdrawals, leading to the freezing of funds for customers of the Gemini Earn loan product. As part of a settlement agreement reached between DCG and creditors in February this year, Gemini stated it would provide up to $100 million in cash to Earn users. It remains unclear whether this $100 million loan is related to the $100 million promised to Earn users. (Source link)
8. Reddit to Release Avatar NFT Gen 3 on April 11 Afternoon Eastern Time
Reddit is set to release Avatar NFT Gen 3 on April 11 afternoon Eastern Time.
ChainCatcher previously reported that on April 6, Reddit deployed the contract for the third generation of Avatar NFT Gen 3 on the Polygon blockchain. (Source link)
"What Are Some Must-Read Articles from the Last 24 Hours"
1. "Fortune Magazine Feature: What Forces Shaped Zhao Changpeng?"
This interview provides firsthand insights into Zhao Changpeng's business operations, suggesting that his success aligns with the development trends of the Chinese expatriate community, and will interpret how his wise yet aloof father influenced the emergence of Binance as a cryptocurrency giant. In the interview, Zhao Changpeng also rarely revealed his family status: he has two toddlers with He Yi.
This article features Chief Executive John Lee's speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Web 3.0 Association today (April 11), where he stated that Web3 plays a crucial role in the development of fintech. The SAR government issued a policy declaration on the development of virtual assets in Hong Kong at the end of last year, demonstrating our open attitude and firm determination towards virtual asset innovation, and expressing happiness to see the industry's positive response.
3. "In-Depth Analysis of the Web3 Data Economy: The Next Billion-Dollar Track After LSD"
In the past two years, the core systems of the data infrastructure technology stack have become very stable, with supporting tools and applications rapidly growing. Web3 is the natural soil for the data factor market, technically eliminating the possibility of cheating, significantly reducing regulatory pressure, allowing data to exist as a true production factor, and facilitating market-oriented allocation.
4. "ABCDE Capital: Hong Kong Conference, Rethinking Three Hot Tracks"
Recently, the Hong Kong conference has been in full swing, with the primary market warming up. ABCDE reviewed over 100 projects in Q1 and personally experienced several particularly hot tracks in the market, among which the hottest include Appchain, ZK, and Gaming. Since the beginning of this year, these three tracks have also undergone some changes, prompting us to rethink and document our insights as a memo for everyone's reference.
