News and Events

Anastasia Gordeeva of Charltons, Hong Kong took part as a moderator and a speaker at the discussion panel at the Blockchain and Bitcoin Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. Lawyers from France, Estonia, United States, Lithuania, Jordan and Hong Kong shared the updates in regulation in respective countries and discussed the possible future development of regulation in EU countries.

No regulation of Blockchain technology in Hong Kong; Hong Kong regulators regard cryptocurrencies not as legal tender, money or currencies, but typically as ‘virtual commodities’ which are not subject to regulation; In September 2017, the Securities and Futures Commission (the SFC) issued a “Statement on initial coin offerings” outlining 3 scenarios.

Julia Charlton, Senior Partner of Charltons, and Anastasia Gordeeva, lawyer of Charltons, delivered a speech on “Hong Kong’s law and regulation of the Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies” at the first International Legal Forum on Digital Law in Moscow. The forum was devoted to determining the prospects for the development of the digital law, as well as the regimes of regulating cryptocurrencies in various jurisdictions were considered. Julia Charlton and Anastasia Gordeeva talked about the situation on this issue in Hong Kong.

On 6 February 2018, Charltons’ senior partner, Julia Charlton, participated in the panel discussion at the Cambodia Fintech Connection Week hosted by CamNEXT Global Limited (CamNEXT) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC) in Hong Kong. The event celebrates the strategic Fintech Exclusive Partnership MoU signed by CamNEXT and the SECC in December 2017 to tackle a range of fintech-related issues including the regulation of cryptocurrencies.  The hosts showcased their crypto-asset exchange platform’s Proof of Concept and strategic roadmaps which they intend to establish as a regulated trading platform for cryptocurrencies.  The panel discussed the tremendous potential of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency uses and the areas of risk and focussed on the various approaches being adopted to the regulation of cryptocurrency transactions, both initial coin offers or ICOs and exchange-based trading of cryptocurrencies.

On 15 and 16 January 2018, Julia Charlton, senior partner of Charltons, and Kim Larkin, Charltons’ lawyer, attended the annual Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong. Julia Charlton and Kim Larkin took part in discussions on the global economy and opportunities that China’s markets will offer in 2018. They also engaged in debates on how Hong Kong’s regulators should respond to emerging technologies and innovation, how TechFin, FinTech and Blockchain can transform the future of financial services, and discussed the most innovative emerging FinTech developments in Asia.

Julia Charlton, senior partner of Charltons, took part in the Kazan Legal Forum as a panelist at the seminars “Investment and Financial Cooperation with Asia and the Middle East: Obstacles and Recommendations” and “Legal Challenges in the 4th Industrial Revolution” in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. As part of the panels, Ms. Charlton shared her experience in the areas of legal developments in the fields of cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and discussed ways of extending cooperation among Russian and Chinese businesses.