Twenty-4 firms have utilized for licenses to function digital asset exchanges in Hong Kong, marking a transfer within the metropolis’s bid to ascertain a regulated hub for the trade. Notable candidates embody Bybit, OKX, and Crypto.com.
Among the many record of candidates have been Gate.io, HTX, and Bullish, every boasting notable buying and selling volumes within the digital asset sphere. The applying course of got here with a deadline of February twenty ninth, after which platforms failing to submit should stop operations by the top of Could.
Angela Ang, Senior Coverage Adviser at Blockchain Intelligence Agency TRM Labs, Supply: LinkedIn
Notably absent from the applicant roster have been trade giants like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken. Business observers view the appliance pool as a litmus take a look at for Hong Kong’s attraction as a digital-asset middle, notably amidst intensifying competitors from different jurisdictions. The town’s nine-month-old virtual-asset regulatory framework prioritizes investor safety, doubtlessly introducing compliance prices that would deter some companies.
“The applying record is the litmus take a look at for trade sentiment,” mentioned Angela Ang, the Senior Coverage Adviser at Blockchain Intelligence Agency TRM Labs. “It’s a superb signal to see plenty of well-known gamers within the combine. What Hong Kong actually wants is plenty of dedicated, sizable gamers to anchor its ecosystem.”
Ding Chen, the Head of Regulatory Affairs at Bullish, acknowledged the fee implications of working a regulated enterprise, drawing parallels with conventional monetary providers. Such issues are factored into firms’ total methods as they navigate Hong Kong’s regulatory panorama.
Over-the-Counter Dominance: Crypto Flows Past Digital Exchanges
Hong Kong’s pivot in direction of turning into a crypto hub in late 2022 displays efforts to challenge a cutting-edge picture amid uncertainties concerning the metropolis’s future. Presently, HashKey Alternate and OSL Group are the one licensed digital-asset exchanges working in Hong Kong.
Gary Tiu, the Head of Regulatory Affairs at OSL, highlighted the evolving regulatory surroundings’s influence on enterprise development and emphasised the necessity to assess related prices.
Regardless of Hong Kong’s attract as a crypto vacation spot, information from Chainalysis signifies that a good portion of crypto flows into the town happens via over-the-counter (OTC) trades relatively than digital-asset exchanges. Regulators have initiated crackdowns on small outlets facilitating cash-to-digital asset exchanges, signaling efforts to streamline oversight.
Hong Kong can be actively exploring laws for stablecoins and contemplating the potential of permitting exchange-traded funds investing immediately in choose cryptocurrencies. In a latest improvement, the federal government bought $750 million of digital inexperienced bonds utilizing HSBC Holdings’s tokenization platform, additional underscoring the town’s foray into digital finance.
