Bitcoin ETF

Bitcoin

April

The government of Hong Kong will tighten regulations on over-the-counter (OTC) digital assets trade by subjecting it to the same requirements as the retail digital assets trade.&nbsp;
On Feb. 8, the government <a href="https://www.fstb.gov.hk/fsb/en/publication/consult/doc/VAOTC_consultation_paper_en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">published</a>&nbsp;its “Public Consultation on Legislative Proposals to Regulate Over-the-Counter Trading of Virtual Assets.” The consultation will last until April 12. 
The primary suggestion of the paper is to include OTC trade under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), effective from June 2023. Typically, OTC means deals conducted directly between the provider and the customer without a centralized marketplace, such as an exchange. 
The government suggests including only “spot trade of any virtual assets for any money” under the OTC category, while the virtual assets trade will remain under the domain of a standard virtual assets trade provider (VATP) license. Peer-to-peer trading will also remain outside the scope of OTC. 
According to the government, there are roughly 200 physical VA OTC outlets (including ATMs) and around 250 digital platforms or active online posts on buying and selling VA services in Hong Kong.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/floki-memcoin-blocks-hong-kong-users-staking-sfc-regulator">Floki restricts Hong Kong staking after Securities Commission’s warning</a>
The regulation would require OTC traders to comply with roughly the same demands as all the other virtual asset service providers. They would have to obtain a license from the Commissioner of Customs and Excise and provide the address of the local management office, a correspondence address, and the place for local storage of books and records. 
Licensees will only be allowed to transfer the assets from their registered wallets to a client wallet, and the clients would have to provide proof of ownership and control over their wallets. 
OTC traders will not be allowed to trade virtual assets not listed on the retail VATPs or stablecoins whose issuers were not licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
On Feb. 2, the Hong Kong government’s financial services department highlighted a deadline for unlicensed virtual asset service provider (VASP) applications, saying those not approved <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hong-kong-vasp-licensing-deadline-may-shutdown">must cease operations</a> by May 31. 
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/hong-kong-bitcoin-etf-fomo-thailand-14b-airdrop-asia-express/">Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF FOMO, Thailand approves $14B airdrop: Asia Express</a>

Hong Kong plans universal AML requirements for OTC crypto traders

Cointelegraph

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