Hong Kong Security Regulator to Issue Crypto license Guidelines in May

The Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission (SFC) is expected to issue guidelines for obtaining a license to operate cryptocurrency exchanges within the next month, according to recent sources.

The statements were made by Julia Leung, who is the chief executive of the SFC. They were quoted in a Bloomberg article that was published on April 27th, which exposed the recommendations.

The forthcoming laws will be beneficial to bitcoin trading platforms, which, from June 1st, will be allowed to offer trading services to regular investors. According to Bloomberg, Leung asserted that over 150 interested parties participated in the consultation process for the licensing regime.

It is likely that Leung was responding to a report that was published on February 20 and emphasized the regulatory duties for Know Your Client (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML).

While the majority of prospective licensees for the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) program are still awaiting confirmation, certain trading platforms have already begun offering clients cryptocurrency-related services while being subject to regulation by the SFC.

OSL and Hashkey Group are reportedly two of the few trading platforms that have in the past been granted licenses by the SFC. This information comes courtesy of Reuters.

Even while Hong Kong is planning to become the next major center for cryptocurrency trading, not all trading platforms have decided to remain there for the foreseeable future.

Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange that has $1.4 trillion in reserve assets, announced on April 24 that it would discontinue offering services to its Hong Kong customers once the Hong Kong VASP system came into force on June 1.