Hong Kong’s SFC Forces Unlicensed Crypto Exchanges To Shut Down by Could

• Hong Kong receives 22 license functions from crypto firms like OKX and Bybit to function as digital asset exchanges.
• Whereas Hong Kong closed the functions on February 29, main gamers like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken haven’t utilized.
• The SFC asserts that the unlicensed crypto exchanges must be shut down by the tip of Could 2024.

Hong Kong has reportedly introduced the closure of receiving license functions from crypto firms on February 29. Whereas Hong Kong obtained 22 functions from firms like Bybit, OKX, and Huobi to function as crypto exchanges, main gamers like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken failed to use.

The Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) asserted that the crypto exchanges that haven’t utilized for the license earlier than the deadline ought to shut down their firms by the tip of Could 2024. As well as, the regulators reminded traders and merchants emigrate to the licensed platforms. In a notice, the SFC warned,

Digital asset buying and selling platforms working in Hong Kong which haven’t submitted their license functions to the SFC by 29 February 2024 should shut down their companies in Hong Kong by 31 Could 2024. Buyers utilizing these platforms ought to make preparations early.

Angela Ang, the Senior Coverage Advisor on the blockchain intelligence agency TRM Labs, described Hong Kong’s crypto alternate licensing as a “litmus take a look at.” She cited,

The appliance checklist is the litmus take a look at for business sentiment. It’s a superb signal to see plenty of well-known gamers within the combine. What Hong Kong actually wants is plenty of dedicated, sizable gamers to anchor its ecosystem.

Regardless of China’s anti-crypto stance, Hong Kong aspires to ascertain a crypto hub. The SFC’s crypto regulation insurance policies and the present licensing scheme are pivotal in Hong Kong’s imaginative and prescient of a full-fledged crypto market.

In latest information, Hong Kong initiated restrictions on over-the-counter (OTC) suppliers suspected of facilitating illicit crypto commerce. Whereas the Monetary Companies and the Treasury Bureau started probing into these platforms, they centered on implementing strict guidelines to forestall cash laundering, terrorism financing, and fraud.