Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee unveiled the 2026 Policy Address, pledging to deepen the city’s global offshore renminbi business and capital markets. The plan includes launching an offshore RMB bond index, optimizing rules on discloseable transactions, connected transactions and spin-offs, and expanding the fixed-income and commodities trading ecosystem as Hong Kong builds itself into an international asset and wealth management center.

TREE NEWS update: BitMart has launched a user feedback portal to collect questions, concerns and feedback on withdrawal arrangements, near-term action plans and the exchange’s future direction, the platform said on September 16. Submissions go to BitMart, financial adviser Alvarez & Marsal and legal counsel for ongoing assessment. Users must select the “User Engagement Portal” category and verify by email using their registered address; the portal does not process withdrawals case by case and filing a ticket does not change account or asset status.

TREE NEWS update: Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss said no Democratic senator voted in favor of the Clarity Act in a key US Senate vote, writing on X that “there is a lesson in that.” The final tally was 49 in favor to 50 against, with one senator not voting — well short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bill, with a few Republicans also opposing.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee announced on the 16th that the government will step up support for local startups, with the Innovation and Technology Industry Investment Fund expected to launch officially this year. About 20 fund managers have been shortlisted and are raising capital to establish sub-funds. An additional HK$1 billion has also been earmarked for the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund.

TREE NEWS update: US prosecutors have charged two former Robinhood engineers with trading Hyperliquid perpetuals ahead of Robinhood token listings, allegedly earning more than $50,000 each. The case concerns pre-listing crypto trades made using knowledge of the platform’s upcoming token additions.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee on Wednesday released the city’s first Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026-2030) alongside the 2026 Policy Address. The plan focuses on building an innovation and technology industrial chain across the Greater Bay Area, with the Hong Kong park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone as its centerpiece. It aims to strengthen strategic alignment with Shenzhen and reinforce the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou global innovation cluster’s leading position.

TREE NEWS reports: US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $450 million in net outflows, the largest single-day withdrawal since June, as Bitcoin fell 2.5%. Fidelity and BlackRock funds led the redemptions. The move came as the CLARITY Act failed to advance in the Senate.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee unveiled the territory’s first five-year economic and social development plan for 2026-2030 alongside the 2026 Policy Address. The plan aims to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a global cross-border wealth management hub by serving sovereign funds and family offices, and by improving the tax regime for funds, single-family offices and carried interest to draw more international and mainland family capital and long-term funds to the city.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong published its first five-year economic and social development plan for 2026-2030 on September 16, pledging to strengthen its listing regime and support leading mainland and overseas companies in emerging industries to list in the city. The plan also calls for deeper cooperation between Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing and the Qianhai Equity Exchange to help more mainland firms tap international capital markets.

TREE NEWS update: People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Xuan Changneng met Fiona Bassett, chief executive of FTSE Russell at London Stock Exchange Group, on September 14, 2026. The two sides exchanged views on current international financial market trends, China’s high-standard opening of its financial markets, and FTSE Russell’s business operations in China.

TREE NEWS update: Alex Saab, a former Venezuelan industry minister and close associate of President Nicolás Maduro, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in a Miami federal court on the 15th, the US Department of Justice said. The DOJ announced the plea the same day.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee on the 16th published the city’s first Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026-2030), naming artificial intelligence a key future industry. The plan promotes an “AI Plus” initiative across sectors, expands the AI ecosystem and data resource development, and builds the Sha Ling data park to boost computing infrastructure. Lee also said the government will review legal frameworks for wider AI and data use and raise public AI literacy.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Justice said it is leading the drafting of a regulation on building a national unified market, working alongside the National Development and Reform Commission. Announced at a State Council Information Office briefing on the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the rules aim to enforce a “five unifications and one opening” framework and remove local protectionism, market fragmentation and cutthroat competition, the ministry said.

TREE NEWS update: Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said the Northern Metropolis is to be built into the city’s primary platform for taking an active part in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and for integrating into and serving the country’s overall development. Lee set out the positioning in remarks on the mega development project in the city’s northern districts.

TREE NEWS reports: Analysts said the defeat of the Clarity Act is not a structural blow to crypto, as bitcoin and major crypto-linked stocks slipped. They told The Block the market will keep taking its direction from interest rates and the broader monetary environment. The Clarity Act is the crypto market-structure bill that failed to advance.

TREE NEWS update: Taiwan’s Executive Yuan approved a 2027 defense budget plus special budget that together approach 4% of GDP, and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim reiterated President Lai Ching-te’s pledge to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP. Asked about this at a regular press conference on September 16, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the move is “self-destructive.”

TREE NEWS update: The CLARITY Act retains a procedural path forward after Senator Thom Tillis moved to reconsider the failed cloture vote, leaving the crypto industry looking to US regulators. Industry executives are divided on whether Congress has enough time left to advance the bill. The vote’s failure marks a setback for the legislation’s supporters.

TREE NEWS update: The US Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural cloture vote on September 15, with 49 in favor and 50 against. Senator John Kennedy said the defeat was not surprising but does not mean the bill is dead, suggesting work may wait until the lame-duck session. Senator Ted Cruz blamed Democrats, saying they were playing politics and pushing crypto jobs overseas.

TREE NEWS update: The US Senate rejected a procedural motion to advance the CLARITY Act in a 49-50 vote at 02:15 Beijing time on September 16, falling 11 votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate. No Democratic senator voted in favor, while Republicans Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis voted against. Bitcoin briefly fell below $75,000 to $74,955.5 and Ether dropped below $2,400 to $2,358.1.

TREE NEWS update: People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said the central bank will broaden its macroprudential management toolkit and keep stock, bond and foreign exchange markets running smoothly, in a signed article published in Qiushi. He also pledged to strengthen systemic financial risk monitoring, evaluation and early warning, and to steadily defuse risks in key regions and institutions.