Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
Report – Regulation Bitcoin News
Hong Kong is relaxing its crypto regulation to allow retail investors to trade digital assets directly. A licensing regime for crypto platforms that allows retail crypto trading is reportedly to be enforced in March next year.
Hong Kong moves closer to allowing retail crypto trading
Hong Kong is reportedly relaxing its strict cryptocurrency regulation with a plan to allow retail cryptocurrency trading, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A mandatory licensing regime for cryptocurrency platforms that allow cryptocurrency trading will be enforced in March next year, the publication relayed, elaborating:
Hong Kong plans to legalize retail crypto from March after years of skepticism – a stark contrast to mainland China’s ban.
Also, regulators are seeking to allow retail exchanges to list major cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), the news outlet added. The listing rules are likely to include criteria such as the token’s market capitalization, liquidity, and inclusion in third-party crypto indices.
Gary Tiu, CEO of crypto firm BC Technology Group, commented:
Introducing compulsory licensing in Hong Kong is just one of the important things regulators need to do. They cannot forever effectively shut down the needs of retail investors.
Michel Lee, CEO of Hashkey, explained that Hong Kong has been trying to create an all-inclusive crypto regime, citing tokenized stocks and bonds as a potentially more important segment in the future. “Just trading digital assets alone is not the goal. The goal is really to grow the ecosystem,” he said.
Hong Kong’s top financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), introduced a voluntary licensing regime in 2018. It restricted crypto trading platforms to clients with portfolios of at least HK$8 million ($1 million). However, the tough regulation rejected many crypto companies, and only two firms – BC Technology Group and Hashkey – were approved.
However, many people are skeptical about the new crypto regulation. Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong co-founder Leonhard Weese shared:
The kind of conversations I’ve had were that people still fear that there will be a very strict licensing regime. Even if they are able to deal directly with retail users, they are still not going to be as attractive or as competitive as foreign platforms.
The SFC’s director of licensing and head of its fintech unit, Elizabeth Wong, said last week: “We’ve had four years of experience regulating this industry … We think that this might actually be a good time to really think carefully about whether we will continue with this requirement for professional investors.” She noted that Hong Kong could also authorize exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to offer exposure to mainstream crypto assets.
What do you think about Hong Kong allowing retail cryptocurrency trading? Let us know in the comments section below.
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