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 <p class="is-style-lead">Two China-tied brokers are planning to apply for a virtual asset service platform (VASP) license to offer services for retail clients.</p>
 <p>A new pair of financial entities with close ties to China plan to start offering crypto services in Hong Kong as they prepare to apply for retail trading licenses.</p>
 <p>According to Nikkei Asia’s sources familiar with the matter, Yax and PantherTrade are seeking to apply for the <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="license" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/license.html">license</a> in the region.</p>
 <p>Yax is reportedly supported by employees at Tiger Brokers, a Chinese brokerage firm backed by Xiaomi. PantherTrade is a <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="crypto" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/crypto.html">crypto</a>-aimed platform, which reportedly has close connections to Futu, a digitized brokerage firm backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent.</p>
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 <p>While no timeline was revealed, the two firms undergo third-party assessments to submit their applications with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).</p>
 <blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
  <p>“They will apply unless there’s huge out-of-expectation events. I don’t see them backing off.”</p> <cite>Nikkei Asia’s source familiar with the matter</cite>
 </blockquote>
 <p>As of press time, only two companies have been granted <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="crypto" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/crypto.html">crypto</a> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="license" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/license.html">license</a>s in Hong Kong: OSL and Hashkey. Yet, Nikkei’s sources added that many companies are still interested in applying for the same permit but are waiting for more clarity before proceeding.</p>
 <p>The Hong Kong market seems to have been on a bumpy road for a while as OSL’s operator BC Technology Group Ltd. is reportedly weighing the sale of its <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" title="crypto" href="https://thebittimes.com/tag/crypto.html">crypto</a> business at a HK$1 billion (~$127.8 million) valuation.</p>
 <p>Although the reason for selling is unknown, Bloomberg’s sources note that trading volume on OSL decreased to HK$112.6 billion (~$14.4 billion) in H1, 2023, a significant decrease from the same period a year ago.</p>
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<p>Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://thebittimes.com/china-bound-brokers-seek-crypto-licenses-in-hong-kong-tbt66549.html">https://thebittimes.com/china-bound-brokers-seek-crypto-licenses-in-hong-kong-tbt66549.html</a></p>

China-bound brokers seek crypto licenses in Hong Kong

TheBitTimes

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