securities

According to Jinshi reports, Huatai Securities believes that the better-than-expected rebound in March's non-farm data shows the resilience of the U.S. labor market. However, under the conflict in the Middle East, the impact of high oil prices on inflation expectations is more critical for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.Recently, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has intensified, and the oil supply gap caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up oil prices and inflation expectations. Inflation is currently the core variable of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

According to Herald Economy, Korea Investment & Securities is considering acquiring shares in the digital asset exchange Coinone to respond to competitor Future Asset Group's acquisition of Korbit. Korea Investment & Securities is currently communicating with financial authorities and political circles, and has not yet reached an agreement on specific terms with Coinone representatives.Coinone is the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, with a market share in the double digits, but has reported losses for three consecutive years. Financial authorities are advancing restrictions on major shareholders of exchanges, and some of the 53.44% shares held by Coinone representatives are expected to be sold. Korea Investment & Securities has previously been less active in the digital asset space, and this acquisition would make it a "game changer." Coinone stated that it has not yet determined the specific cooperation model or partner.

According to market news, South Korea's leading brokerage, Korea Investment & Securities, is conducting a preliminary review for the acquisition of shares in Coinone, the country's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange. They are currently working to persuade financial regulatory authorities and the National Assembly's Administrative Committee, following a path similar to that of Mirae Asset Group's acquisition of Korbit.The current CEO of Coinone, Cha Myung-hoon, holds 53.44% of the shares, but the upcoming regulatory new rules may set the upper limit for major shareholders' holdings at 15% - 20%, creating an entry window for external buyers.

Ant Group has completed the acquisition of Hong Kong stablecoin concept stock Yau Choy Securities, obtaining a 50.55% stake for HKD 2.814 billion. The board of Yau Choy Securities has been completely restructured, with Zheng Yanlan, the current head of the overseas business preparation team of Ant Group's Ant Wealth division, Huang Hao, the current senior vice president of Ant Group, and Liu Zheng, the current chief financial officer of Ant Group, appointed as executive directors.

According to Jinshi reports, Nomura Securities expects the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in September and December, while the previous forecast was for June and September.

Cryptocurrency payment company Alchemy Pay announced that its strategic investment target in Hong Kong, HTF Securities Limited, has received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to upgrade its Type 1 (Securities Trading) license to virtual asset trading services, covering both professional and retail investors.Previously, both parties had jointly completed the upgrade of the Type 4 license to VA and are advancing the application for the upgrade of the Type 9 license. In addition, the stablecoin payment public chain Alchemy Chain launched by Alchemy Pay has gone live on the testnet this year, with over 150,000 test addresses since its launch.

Cryptocurrency payment company Alchemy Pay announced that its strategic investment target in Hong Kong, HTF Securities Limited, has received approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to upgrade its Type 1 (Securities Trading) license to virtual asset trading services, covering both professional and retail investors. Previously, both parties had jointly completed the upgrade of the Type 4 license to VA and are advancing the application for the upgrade of the Type 9 license, gradually building a virtual asset licensing system in Hong Kong.In addition, the stablecoin payment public chain Alchemy Chain launched by Alchemy Pay has gone live on the testnet this March. Since its launch, the number of test addresses has exceeded 150,000, providing underlying support for the implementation of its stablecoin payment ecosystem.

According to the official blog, Plume Network's General Counsel Salman Banaei stated at a hearing held by the U.S. House Financial Services Committee that tokenized securities should not be viewed as a completely new asset class, nor should new rules or exemptions be created for them.He argued that regulation should be driven by the economic nature and risks of financial products, rather than the technology used, and thus should incorporate new technological realities into the existing regulatory framework through targeted amendments to current regulations.Salman pointed out that utilizing public blockchains and on-chain compliance tools (such as Plume's built-in protocol-level anti-money laundering screening) can significantly enhance market transparency, reduce costs, and decrease reliance on intermediaries while maintaining or even exceeding existing regulatory standards.Finally, Salman issued a warning: the competition for global tokenized infrastructure is accelerating, with regions like Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UAE actively positioning themselves. If the U.S. falls behind in regulation due to policy uncertainty, it risks losing its leadership position in the digital transformation of global capital markets, allowing this strategic opportunity to shift to foreign competitors with different geopolitical objectives.

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Tokenization and the Future of Securities" on March 25, 2026, at 22:00 (UTC+8) to discuss the impact of security tokenization on capital markets, investor protection, and regulatory frameworks, and to review a legislative proposal requiring the SEC and CFTC to study the tokenization market.Witnesses include SIFMA President Kenneth Bentsen, Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger, DTCC Deputy General Counsel Christian Sabella, Nasdaq Chief Legal and Compliance Officer John Zecca, and Plume Network General Counsel Salman Banaei.

According to Businesswire, Nasdaq-listed Solana treasury company Solmate Infrastructure released an update on its digital asset reserves, disclosing that as of 2026, it holds 1,235,834 SOL and approximately 7.1 million dollars in crypto-related securities, as well as about 9.1 million dollars in cash. The company clarified that it has not sold SOL tokens to maintain operations and has no long-term debt.Based on the current market price of SOL, its total digital asset market value is approximately 129.4 million dollars.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Stock Exchange is collaborating with Securitize to develop a tokenized securities platform.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission released the Q4 2025 report, which pointed out that the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has officially become a member of the Hong Kong Police Force's Virtual Assets Intelligence Working Group, with strategic innovation promoting the continuous growth of Hong Kong's listed and digital asset markets.In terms of digital assets, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission recognized that the asset management scale of tokenized retail money funds has grown to HKD 8.66 billion (USD 1.11 billion) since its launch in 2025, with a quarterly increase of 14% as of last December; additionally, since the launch of Asian virtual asset spot exchange-traded funds in the market in 2024, a total of 11 such ETFs have been listed in Hong Kong, with a total market value increasing by 142% to over HKD 5.4 billion (USD 702 million) since their listing. As of last December, the total market value of ETFs and leveraged and inverse products recognized by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission surged by 33.7% year-on-year to HKD 618.7 billion.Furthermore, the net inflow of funds for funds registered in Hong Kong surged by 118.5% year-on-year to HKD 356.7 billion in 2025. As of last December, the assets under management of these funds grew by 38.3% year-on-year to HKD 22.8 trillion, while the total number of funds increased by 9.1% year-on-year to 1,041.

According to Jinshi reports, Guosheng Securities' research report states that the Federal Reserve can only strengthen its wait-and-see stance in the context of rising uncertainty, paying attention to changes in the oil price center and the duration of high oil prices.The report points out that the situation in Iran has lasted for three weeks without signs of easing, indicating that energy prices such as crude oil and natural gas will remain high, which may lead to a gradual tightening of global liquidity. It is advised to be cautious of the possibility of a deep adjustment in the stock market.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has officially approved the modification of Nasdaq rules, allowing the pilot trading of securities in "tokenized form" on its exchange, marking a key step for traditional capital markets towards blockchain.According to the plan, eligible stocks and ETFs can be cleared and settled in on-chain token form within the existing trading system, sharing the same order book, trading priority, and fully consistent shareholder rights with traditional stocks. This pilot is based on the tokenization program of the Depository Trust Company (DTC), allowing investors to choose whether to settle in token form when placing orders, with the system completing on-chain processing after the transaction.Nasdaq stated that aside from the settlement method, trading rules, market data, fee structures, and regulatory monitoring remain unchanged, and tokenized securities are still fully incorporated into the current securities law framework. Industry insiders believe this move signifies that "U.S. stocks on-chain" has officially entered the regulatory implementation phase, which may reshape the securities issuance, trading, and settlement system.

According to The Block, the U.S. SEC and CFTC jointly released a 68-page new guideline, clarifying that most cryptocurrencies do not fall under the category of securities.SEC Chairman Paul Atkins stated at the Washington Blockchain Summit that this move will provide market participants with clear guidance on how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets. The guidelines detail the classification of stablecoins, digital commodities, and "digital tools," all of which are identified as non-securities, and explain how "non-security crypto assets" can transform into securities, as well as how federal securities laws apply to mining, protocol staking, and airdrops.Digital commodities are defined as assets that are "intrinsically linked to the programmatic operation of functional crypto systems and the dynamics of supply and demand from which they derive value," and digital collectibles are also not considered securities. Atkins remarked, "We are no longer the 'Securities and Everything Commission'," which stands in stark contrast to the previous SEC Chairman Gary Gensler's position of viewing most cryptocurrencies as securities. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig also attended the summit.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Market Participants Division issued a "no-action" letter to the self-custody cryptocurrency wallet software developer Phantom Technologies Inc.The letter addresses the software features that Phantom intends to offer and promote, allowing its users to trade through registered futures commission merchants (FCMs), introducing brokers (IBs), and designated contract markets (DCMs). The CFTC stated that, under certain conditions, the Market Participants Division would not recommend enforcement action against Phantom or its related personnel solely for the aforementioned activities without being registered as an introducing broker or its affiliates.

According to Jinshi News, Yaocai Securities Finance (01428.HK) announced that the tender offer initiated by Ant Group has been approved by the relevant Chinese authorities and is expected to be completed on March 30. The company's stock will resume trading on March 17.

According to PR Newswire, the tokenized securities infrastructure development company Ironlight Group announced the completion of a $21 million Series A financing, with participation from former TD Bank President and CEO Greg Braca, the Sei Development Foundation, and Laidlaw Private Equity, among others.The new funds will be used to expand the scale of Ironlight Markets' alternative trading system (ATS) and accelerate the construction of a market that unifies core capital market functions within the U.S. regulatory framework, supporting tokenized securities covering areas such as private equity, structured products, fixed income, private credit, and real estate.

Hester M. Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stated that a research initiative for a "regulatory exemption" for tokenized securities has been launched, allowing limited trading and technical experimentation for certain tokenized securities. This exemption plan will be more cautious than the "comprehensive exemption" proposed by the industry.She believes it is worth exploring whether different types of tokenization models for securities can be tested under the innovation exemption framework and whether issuer consent is needed for third parties to issue tokenized versions of their stocks, in order to promote technological innovation while avoiding regulatory arbitrage and maintaining core investor protection mechanisms.Hester M. Peirce also emphasized that regulators should not overly interfere with private capital allocation. The SEC is currently assessing several key issues, including: whether the existing information disclosure system is sufficient to cover the ownership structure of tokenized securities, the disclosure obligations of brokers and clearing agencies in the issuance of tokenized securities, the compatibility of atomic settlement with the current T+1 settlement rules, and the applicability of regulatory authority in the absence of intermediaries or under new intermediary structures.