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- Hong Kong authorities have warned crypto exchanges to say for a license by February 29 or face shutdown
- The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) reiterated the requirement for exchanges to invent a virtual asset procuring and selling platform (VATP) license
- This warning aligns with Hong Kong’s aspirations to become a cryptocurrency hub, implementing measures like tokenizing government bonds and tackling crypto scams
Hong Kong authorities have warned crypto exchanges that they’ll be shut down in the occasion that they don’t on the least say for an operational license by February 29. The nation’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued the stern warning this week to the metropolis’s cryptocurrency exchanges, reinforcing its message that crypto exchanges have to say for a virtual asset procuring and selling platform (VATP) license by February 29. This warning arrives amidst Hong Kong’s ambitions to region itself as a cryptocurrency hub, with initiatives like tokenizing government bonds and combating crypto scams.
All Exchanges Must HAve VATP License
In a assertion reminding crypto retailers of their duties, Julia Leung, CEO of the SFC, emphasized the importance of maintaining customers from damage through elevated consciousness of crypto and investment scams. If any trade fails to say for a VATP license by the end of February then they’ll be forcibly closed by June, with the regulator unwilling to allow the public to make utilize of unregistered exchanges..
For the time being, 14 corporations have utilized for licensing below Hong Kong’s unusual crypto regulatory framework, though exchanges looking ahead to approval are accredited to operate all the plot during the choice route of. The same route of change into once implemented in Japan following the give plot of MtGox in 2014, though the thought change into once criticized when Coincheck change into once hacked for $530 million in 2018 while its software program change into once being reviewed.
So some distance, simplest two exchanges, OSL and HashKey Alternate, have secured approval to aid retail customers.
Users Suggested to Rob Steps Now
The SFC also knowledgeable customers to examine if the platforms they engage with protect a VATP license, advising warning when going through unlicensed exchanges till the unusual measures plot in. Users are inspired to put collectively for seemingly closures by either closing their accounts or transitioning to SFC-licensed platforms smartly sooner than the closing dates.
While functions are below review, the SFC cautioned that approval isn’t guaranteed, emphasizing the importance of procuring and selling simplest on licensed platforms to be certain investor protection.
