As the global DAT trend surges, several of Asia’s top financial hubs are now pushing back. | Credit: Getty Images.
Key Takeaways
Asia’s leading stock exchanges tighten scrutiny on crypto treasury firms amid rising risks.
Hong Kong, Australia, and India are blocking listings linked to digital asset holdings.
Japan remains an outlier, with 14 listed firms holding Bitcoin in their treasuries.
As the Digital Asset Treasury (DAT) craze gains global momentum, some of Asia’s biggest financial centers are starting to hit the brakes.
In recent months, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Australia’s ASX, and India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) have quietly tightened the door on companies trying to reinvent themselves as crypto-treasury players.
What started as a creative way for public firms to boost their valuations by holding Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum (ETH) on their balance sheets has now raised red flags with regulators.
Across Asia, officials worry that the fast-growing trend could expose investors to wild market swings and open the door to manipulation.
According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. (HKEX) has turned down at least five applications from companies seeking to list under a DAT model in recent months.
The bourse cited rules prohibiting “cash companies” or those that hold an excessive proportion of liquid assets — including cryptocurrencies — as a primary reason for rejection.
Regulators warned that such balance sheets undermine transparency and could distort investor expectations.
Australia and India have taken similar stances, with both exchanges instructing listing committees to reject or delay approvals for firms that “derive value primarily from volatile crypto assets.”
The heightened caution comes after the collapse of QMMM Holdings, a Hong Kong-based firm whose stock soared over 1,400% in a single day following its $100 million crypto treasury announcement — only for the company to disappear weeks later.
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