Hong Kong grants licenses to 4 extra crypto exchanges, aiming to grow to be a worldwide crypto hub with environment friendly licensing processes.
Hong Kong is taking important steps to ascertain itself as a worldwide crypto hub by granting licenses to 4 extra crypto exchanges. The Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) authorised licenses for Accumulus, HKbitEX, DFX Labs, and EX.IO. These licenses got here after on-site inspections when the exchanges responded to the regulator. Earlier than that, licenses have been granted to OSL, HashKey, and HKVAX. It reveals that Hong Kong is actively working in the direction of establishing a regulated marketplace for crypto companies.
The licensing course of that’s utilized by the SFC could be very environment friendly. On the twelfth June 2023, Hong Kong formally commenced the licensing of VATPs that are concerned in digital asset buying and selling. This new framework permits licensed exchanges to offer retail buying and selling companies. A quick and environment friendly course of can also be a precedence of the SFC as a result of world cities compete to grow to be leaders within the cryptocurrency market. Subsequently, the SFC has been straight approaching the senior administration of VATPs to clarify the respective regulatory requirements.
Hong Kong Pushes to Change into Crypto Hub with New Licenses
Further data relating to the licensing course of was revealed within the current round by the SFC. At present, the exchanges require compliance evaluations of their platform insurance policies, procedures, and controls. These evaluations must be licensed by a licensed public accountant. Following this, the SFC coordinates a second-phase analysis with VATPs and outdoors evaluators. After passable completion of the evaluation, limitations to the enterprise scope are lifted, and exchanges can happen.
Alternatively, Hong Kong’s lawmaker Ng Package-chuang has recommended that Hong Kong ought to make investments its fiscal reserves in cryptocurrencies. Based mostly on this, Ng advisable the federal government deploy the Change Fund to make investments in digital commodities. Such a call would deliver town to parity with the remainder of the world, the place increasingly monetary corporations are beginning to combine cryptocurrencies. If this proposal is to be adopted, it will help in placing this proposal because the daybreak of a contemporary monetary metropolis in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is progressively coming into the highest of the crypto trade as a result of liberal licensing regime and consistently creating laws. The current licensing approvals present Hong Kong’s dedication to the crypto trade. Moreover, the proposal to incorporate digital belongings in fiscal reserves additional emphasizes its aim of turning into a crypto hub.