A man walks past an advertisement for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. On 24 September, China issued a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, pressuring crypto and blockchain-related stocks. Photo: EPA
A man walks past an advertisement for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. On 24 September, China issued a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, pressuring crypto and blockchain-related stocks. Photo: EPA
A man walks past an advertisement for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. On 24 September, China issued a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, pressuring crypto and blockchain-related stocks. Photo: EPA
A man walks past an advertisement for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong. On 24 September, China issued a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, pressuring crypto and

Cryptocurrency-linked stocks slide in Hong Kong trading but Bitcoin steadies


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Cryptocurrency-linked stocks dropped in Hong Kong on Monday morning, after Chinese authorities intensified their clampdown on the industry, while major cryptocurrencies steadied.

Shares of crypto asset manager and trading firm Huobi Tech, an affiliate of Huobi Global, one of the world's largest exchanges, fell more than 30 per cent after the opening bell.

Huobi Global said on Sunday it had stopped taking new mainland customers from Friday and would close accounts belonging to mainland-China based clients by the end of the year to comply with local regulations.

China's regulators intensified the clampdown on Friday, banning cryptocurrency transactions and mining, and saying that overseas exchanges are barred from providing services to mainland investors via the internet and that mainland-China based employees of overseas crypto exchanges would be investigated.

OKG Technology Holdings Ltd, a financial technology and construction company majority owned by Xu Mingxing the founder of cryptoexchange OK Coin, fell more than 20 per cent.

However, cryptocurrencies traded firmly on Monday, having rebounded from selling driven by the Chinese crackdown as buy-the-dip speculators swooped in.

Bitcoin was up about 2.4 per cent in Asia trade at $44,250, having fallen to just below $41,000 after Friday's announcement of a blanket ban on crypto mining and transactions in China - the most wide-ranging clampdown yet.

Rival token Ether rose 3 per cent to $3,163 and has recouped its Friday

While you're here
The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

Power: 640hp

Torque: 760nm

On sale: 2026

Price: Not announced yet

The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars

How to invest in gold

Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.

A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.

Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”

Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”

Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”

By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.

You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.

You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.

The biog

Favourite film: The Notebook  

Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey

Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela.           Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands

Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends

Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl

UK's plans to cut net migration

Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.

Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.

But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.

Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.

Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.

The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Paltan

Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5

Updated: September 27, 2021, 5:36 AM`