- Bybit has withdrawn its utility for a digital asset buying and selling platform license in Hong Kong.
- Main exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Gate.io’s HTX have additionally confronted related destiny.
- Hypothesis arises that the Hong Kong SFC could also be hesitant to grant licenses to offshore exchanges at the moment.
Bybit, a number one Digital Asset Buying and selling Platform (VATP), has withdrawn its utility for a license to function in Hong Kong, becoming a member of a rising checklist of worldwide platforms unable to safe regulatory approval.
The alternate initially submitted its utility to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) on January 31, 2024, however formally withdrew it on Could 31, in response to an up to date checklist on the SFC’s web site.
Bybit’s withdrawal mirrors a sample seen with different main exchanges, equivalent to Binance, Gate.io, and HTX, whose functions have been both returned, rejected, or withdrawn.
Market insiders speculate that the Hong Kong SFC could also be hesitant to grant licenses to offshore exchanges, though no official assertion has been made to verify these rumors.
The SFC maintains an inventory of VATP candidates whose license functions have been eliminated for varied causes, together with incomplete submissions, unresolved basic points, or voluntary withdrawal by the candidates. Among the many most up-to-date removals are these of Gate Digital Restricted (Gate.io) and OKX, whose functions had been withdrawn on Could 22 and Could 24, 2024, respectively.
The SFC additionally publishes an inventory of licensed digital asset buying and selling platforms, however the regulator clarifies that it doesn’t endorse their efficiency or creditworthiness. The checklist consists of entities equivalent to OSL Digital Securities and Hash Blockchain, which have formal licenses to function in Hong Kong from 2020.
The withdrawal of Bybit’s utility and the obvious pattern of offshore exchanges dealing with challenges in acquiring Hong Kong licenses might counsel a tightening of regulatory oversight within the area.
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