Hong Kong has decided to use the power of crypto in its efforts to attract international investment and become a top offshore finance hub, according to recent reports.

To achieve this, the government plans to “exempt private equity funds, hedge funds and the investment vehicles of the super-rich from paying tax on gains from cryptocurrencies, private credit investments and other assets.”

The FT has seen a copy of a government proposal which says it wants to provide a “conductive environment” for asset managers looking for new investment destinations.

The crypto industry has seen an early surge in profits in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, and many believe the positive mood will continue.

The FT has reported that the Hong Kong government wants to run a six-week consultation process about the new proposal, and “wants to expand the range of tax-exempt investments to also include private credit, overseas property and carbon credits.”

Russia eyes crypto tax

So, while the government in Hong Kong wants to cut taxes on crypto-related gains and income, authorities in Russia seem to have chosen the opposite course.

According to reports in Cointelegraph, officials in Moscow have approved a new crypto taxation regime, in an attempt to gain maximum benefit from the recent surge in value of the digital assets. “The legislation, approved on Nov. 27, recognizes digital currencies as property and imposes a 13%–15% personal income tax on cryptocurrency sales,” the report said.

It also exempts Russian crypto miners from value-added tax (VAT) on mined coins.

“For tax control purposes, Russia’s mining infrastructure operators must report relevant information about the provision of crypto-mining services to local authorities,” the report adds.

The new taxation regime would come at a time when the likes of bitcoin have reached all-time highs against the Russian ruble, with the current value of a bitcoin almost hitting 11 million rubles.

Telegram’s crypto gains

It seems the detention of chief executive Pavel Durov by French police has not had too much of a negative impact on Telegram’s market value after all, thanks to its crypto ventures.

According to reports, “financial disclosures showed that the surging value of its crypto holdings is increasingly underpinning its business.”

The FT claims it has seen unaudited and previously unseen financial statements about Telegram which show “huge gains in the value of its digital assets in the first half of 2024, which rose to $1.3 billion compared with nearly $400m at the end of last year.”

According to the paper, chief executive Durov’s arrest had initially “shaken” the Dubai based firm, but that its crypto ventures such as selling Toncoins and other related dealings have put its finances back on track.

Durov remains on bail in France and is facing preliminary charges for “alleged failure to address criminality on the app, including enabling money laundering, drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse content, Paris prosecutors said,” according to reports.

Update on the $6m banana

Our last crypto wrap included the story of the $6m banana bought by a crypto entrepreneur in an auction. And we have an update for you. It has now been eaten.

That’s exactly what the buyer, Chinese crypto investor Justin Sun, had promised to do. And he kept his word by chopping and eating the fruit in front of a large crowd of reporters and influencers in Hong Kong, according to reports.

Named The Comedian, the banana is a conceptual artwork by the well-known prankster Maurizio Cattelan, and first made headlines back in 2019.

You may wonder what Sun thought of the taste. “It’s much better than other bananas. It’s really quite good,” he was quoted saying afterward.

Unfortunately there is no way we can confirm whether he was telling the truth. What we can confirm though is that, at more than $6m, the banana is one of the most expensive fruits in history.

Boom in crypto jobs

To close, we have some positive updates from the job market, as latest reports suggest a boom in crypto-related employment opportunities in recent months.

The rise in demand for crypto expertise is apparently down to the fast-expanding digital assets market, and expectations of softer regulations in the US after Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Recruiters are looking for individuals with core technical skills, smart contract development expertise, web3 development, crypto trading and analysis, crypto security, blockchain data analysis and forensics, AI and machine learning in crypto, financial and legal expertise and so on.

Crypto website CCN also discusses the more specific job requirements, the range of salaries you can expect, as well as advice on how you can land a job in the booming crypto industry.