Hong Kong has reaffirmed its dedication to creating strict and complete crypto regulation to strengthen investor safety and sort out monetary crimes.
In a Feb. 2 weblog post, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Monetary Providers and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, reiterated the particular administrative area’s banner of “similar exercise, similar danger, similar regulation,” beneath which Hong Kong crafted a licensing regime for digital asset service suppliers (VASP).
In his publish, Mr. Hui identified that VASPs that had been lively in Hong Kong earlier than the implementation of the brand new licensing system had been granted a transitional interval meant to assist them in adapting to the regulatory framework.
Nonetheless, to take care of their operations past the transition, Hong Kong monetary authorities require these service suppliers to file their licensing purposes by Feb. 29, with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) gearing as much as clear the sphere of unqualified gamers with “no-deeming notices.”
Moreover, the fee will implement a Could 31 cease-operation deadline for non-compliant entities. Furthermore, Mr. Hui spoke about the necessity to regulate over-the-counter venues, which had been instrumental in a few of final yr’s fraud cases involving unlicensed crypto platforms.
We imagine that it’s essential to carry OTC venues beneath regulation, and we’ll launch a session very quickly on the proposed regulatory framework.
Christopher Hui, Hong Kong Secretary for Monetary Providers and the Treasury
Amidst the regulatory revamp, Mr. Hui urged traders to stay cautious of VAs’ intrinsic worth volatility and prohibit their transactions to SFC-licensed platforms to keep away from potential fraud.
Hong Kong lately greenlighted choose platforms to supply Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) buying and selling to retail traders. This transfer comes with stringent oversight from the SFC.
Stories counsel that as much as ten companies are contemplating such funding merchandise, with round half already advancing, and could also be able to debut the area’s first spot crypto ETFs inside the subsequent few months.
Licensed Hong Kong crypto change HashKey has confirmed ongoing discussions with asset managers to probably unveil spot crypto ETFs, fueling hypothesis that Bitcoin spot ETFs might emerge by the primary quarter of 2024.
Asset supervisor Harvest Fund Administration’s Hong Kong operations have additionally reportedly initiated the method of launching a pioneering BTC ETF, having reportedly approached the SFC with a proper utility.
Regardless of shared borders with China, Hong Kong continues asserting its distinctive authorized system and is carving a novel place in cryptocurrency.