Hang Seng Gold ETF began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Jan. 31 as the first physical gold ETF in Hong Kong allowing retail investors to redeem directly through banks, Caixin reports. Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau Secretary Christopher Hui said at the 19th Asian Financial Forum the ETF is also planning distribution through licensed digital asset trading platforms. Hang Seng Investment Management Director and CEO Rosita Lee said the ETF's tokenized, non-listed class is in final testing and is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2026 with access open to retail investors at a lower minimum investment, offering only USD-denominated units without physical gold redemption.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Jan. 31 it is operating under its lapse-in-appropriations contingency plan after federal funding expired amid a partial U.S. government shutdown, BlockBeats reports. Only minimal staff will remain on duty from Jan. 31, 2026, until further notice.

The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned digital asset platforms Zedcex Exchange and Zedxion Exchange on Jan. 31 for links to Iranian businessman Babak Morteza Zanjani, BlockBeats reports. Zedcex has processed over $94 billion in transactions since its August 2022 registration, with multiple addresses on both platforms previously handling funds for wallets tied to Iranian official entities. OFAC also sanctioned Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni Kalagari and several other Iranian officials.

10x Research founder Markus Thielen said on Jan. 30 that markets view Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair as negative for Bitcoin. Thielen noted Warsh's focus on monetary discipline, higher real interest rates and reduced liquidity would mean cryptocurrencies are no longer seen as a hedge against currency debasement but rather as speculative excess that would fade once loose monetary policy is withdrawn. He added that Warsh's approach would likely have led to higher unemployment, slower economic recovery and greater deflation risks during the 2010s.

Kevin Warsh, nominated by Trump to lead the Fed, called the central bank rigid in a Nov. 16, 2025 Wall Street Journal op-ed, BlockBeats reports. He argued AI and pro-growth policies favor faster gains and urged four changes: revising forecasts, reattributing inflation causes, redeploying balance sheet resources to households and SMEs, and easing small-bank regulation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised concerns over Donald Trump's plan to nominate Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair on Jan. 30, BlockBeats reports. As the Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat, Warren questioned Warsh's independence from the White House at the confirmation's first stop. She urged Republicans to delay the nomination until the DOJ finishes its probe into Chair Jerome Powell and what she described as a "political witch hunt" against Powell and Governor Lisa Cook.

Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau is working with the Securities and Futures Commission on detailed rules for regulating virtual asset trading and custody services, with a target to submit four bills on virtual asset service provider regimes to the Legislative Council within this year, according to a government press release on January 30. The statement also noted that Hong Kong's "stablecoin ordinance" officially took effect in August 2025 and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is currently processing related licence applications. In building an international gold trading market, Hong Kong has set a goal to expand gold storage by more than 2,000 tonnes within three years and has established a fully government-owned governing body for the Hong Kong central gold clearing system, which aims to start trial operations this year. The Bureau is also studying enhancements to tax concessions for corporate treasury centres and exploring shortening the stock settlement cycle from the current T+2 to T+1.