Ep 71 - Sanctions, Fragmented Global Trade, Crypto Fault Lines, and the Fight for Regulatory Clarity

Regulatory Ramblings

Episode #71 with Joshua Chu, Melizza Anievas, and Lucas Har 🎧

In this episode, we explore the intersecting challenges of financial regulation, geopolitics, and the evolving crypto landscape.

The initial Spotlight segment features Lucas Har (Risk & Compliance Product Manager, Dow Jones), joining us from Singapore to discuss the shifting dynamics of trade compliance, export controls, and sanctions—especially amid escalating US-China tensions. Lucas outlines how fragmented global trade networks, enforcement asymmetries, and regulatory blind spots have enabled evasion tactics—citing, for instance, the convoluted journey of Mercedes-Benz limousines into North Korea—as geopolitical pressures increasingly undermine coordinated compliance efforts. He also shares what legal and compliance professionals need to know about dual-use goods, the role of shell companies, and how firms can improve due diligence to navigate today’s fractured trade environment.

The main segment brings in Hong Kong-based fintech lawyer Joshua Chu (Lecturer, HKU Space | Director, China Information Technology Development) and Web3 strategist Melizza Anievas (Co-founder & Executive Director, Women in Web3 Hong Kong) to dissect Hong Kong’s newly passed Stablecoin Ordinance and the broader push for clarity in global crypto regulation. Passed on May 21, 2025 - just one day after the U.S. Senate approved the GENIUS Act - the new law creates a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers under the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). It requires issuers to hold high-quality reserves, guarantee par-value redemption, undergo audits, and comply with AML/CFT measures.

The ordinance is part of a wider Asian effort to shape trustworthy, rules-based decentralized finance (DeFi) and tokenized infrastructure, supported by initiatives like Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Sandbox with participants including Standard Chartered and Animoca Brands.

The discussion expands to the under-regulated world of meme coins and contrasts their speculative risks with the regulatory burdens facing stablecoin issuers. Joshua and Melizza weigh in on how the U.S. GENIUS and STABLE Acts may reshape the stablecoin market globally - prompting some issuers to consider avoiding U.S. dollar references to sidestep extraterritorial reach.

As the conversation turns to innovation and compliance, Joshua argues that regulation mainly offers legal guardrails in a crypto space that has yet to deliver truly transformative products beyond early token models. Melizza reframes the "regulation hampers innovation" trope as a matter of communication strategy, emphasizing that much of the challenge lies in how projects present themselves publicly and to investors in different jurisdictions.

The Regulatory Ramblings podcast is brought to you by The University of Hong Kong's Reg/Tech Lab (Building Better Financial Systems), HKU-SCF FinTech Academy, Asia Global Institute, and HKU-edX Professional Certificate in FinTech, with support from HKU Law. The program is led by Douglas Arner and hosted by Ajay Shamdasani.

For more details about the authors and links, please visit: hkufintech.com/rr

HKU FinTech is the leading fintech research and education in Asia. Learn more at www.hkufintech.com.

Chapters

1. Ep 71 - Sanctions, Fragmented Global Trade, Crypto Fault Lines, and the Fight for Regulatory Clarity (00:00:00)

2. Topic Introduction - Lucas Har Segment (00:01:32)

3. From Germany to Pyongyang: How North Korea’s Luxury Cars Expose the High-Stakes Reality of Modern Trade Compliance (00:03:06)

4. China Joins the Global Export Control Game: What Its New Rules Mean for Businesses Everywhere (00:07:31)

5. Lost in the Maze: How Regulatory Divergence and Poor Visibility Undermine Trade Compliance (00:10:08)

6. Beyond Name Screening: Best Practices to Strengthen Trade Compliance and Risk Mitigation (00:12:53)

7. Reputation Is Compliance: Why Asia-Pacific Firms Must Go Global with Their Ethics (00:15:32)

8. Topic Introduction - Joshua Chu & Melizza Anievas Segment (00:20:19)

9. How Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Law Advances Global Financial Integrity (00:21:38)

10. From Meme Coins to Monetary Tools: The Push for Clearer Crypto Rules (00:23:51)

11. Crypto Conflicts: The Politics Behind U.S. Regulatory Uncertainty (00:29:32)

12. Still No Playbook: How Web3 Races Ahead of Global Rules in a Politicized Regulatory Landscape (00:31:51)

13. Not Just a Tech Upgrade: Understanding Web3 as a Cultural Shift (00:35:55)

14. Stablecoins, Legal Gaps, and Global Pressure: Why Hong Kong’s Market Size May Undermine Its Licensing Ambitions (00:43:13)

15. How the Genius and Stable Acts Threaten Global Stablecoin Models (00:45:08)

16. Narrative Wars & the New Crypto Voter: Politics, Power, and the Volatile Future of Web3 (00:49:02)

17. A Word of Caution: Why Crypto’s Biggest Risks May Still Lie Ahead (00:56:14)

18. If Enough People Get Hurt: Meme Coins and the Risk of Stricter Rules (00:58:31)

19. 1:01:05 - Innovation or Illusion? Regulation, Guardrails, and the Messaging Gap (01:01:05)