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Hong Kong Plans to License More Crypto Exchanges By Year-End

Hong Kong's SFC has said that eleven crypto companies awaiting VATP license decisions are already operating as "deemed to be licensed"

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Hong Kong’s financial regulator, the Securities Futures Commission (SFC), has revealed that it plans to issue more licenses to crypto exchanges and digital asset firms by the end of the year.

According to local media outlet HK01, SFC CEO Julia Leung said the regulator aims to “make progress” in approving licenses for eleven Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs).

Of the sixteen companies awaiting VATP license decisions, eleven are already operating as “deemed to be licensed.” The SFC has completed its first round of “on-site” reviews for these firms and stated that those adhering to its licensing standards can expect approval but nonetheless discourages the public from trading with them until their approval.

Leung's comments come as the SFC released its 2024-2026 roadmap earlier this week. The roadmap outlined the regulator's goals including advancing crypto platform regulations, promoting Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization, and deeper exploration of blockchain technology.

Retail investors in Hong Kong are restricted to only purchasing four cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, and Chainlink.

This week also marked the approval of HKVAX as the third crypto exchange licensed for trading in Hong Kong, joining OSL and HashKey.

HKVAX Secures Cryptocurrency Exchange License in Hong Kong
The company joins HashKey Group and OSL as the only operators allowed to serve retail customers in the territory.

HKVAX officially received Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (providing automated trading services) licenses from the SFC, alongside the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) license.

However, the SFC has announced that Hong Kong Digital Asset Xchange Limited (HKDAX) has withdrawn its application for a virtual asset trading platform license. Initially submitted on 27 August, the application marks the thirteenth withdrawn and returned application for virtual asset trading platform licenses disclosed by the SFC.

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