Hong Kong’s new regulations on virtual assets are officially in effect, marking a historic moment for Web3 in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong's new regulations on virtual assets are now in effect, a historic moment for Web3 in the region.

On June 1, the new regulations for virtual asset trading in Hong Kong, “Guideline on the Application of Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators,” officially took effect. The opening of license applications for virtual asset trading platform operators marked a significant progress in Hong Kong’s efforts to become a global virtual asset center. BlockBeats summarized the development history of the cryptocurrency industry in the Chinese market, extracted the key points of the new regulations, analyzed its possible impact on the industry, and gathered opinions from industry insiders.

The classification of virtual assets may evolve over time, and a certain type of virtual asset may change from a non-securities token to a securities token (and vice versa). In order to comply with the regulations of the issuance system and ensure the continuous operation of the business, virtual asset trading platforms should also apply for approval in accordance with the “Securities and Futures Ordinance” and the “Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance” under the current system. The SFC will adopt a simplified application procedure, allowing dual license applicants to submit a comprehensive application form only once.

Licensed virtual asset trading platforms should also conduct due diligence on tokens before including them for trading. Therefore, it is not appropriate to exempt tokens that have already been included by other licensed virtual asset trading platforms from review. The SFC only requires platform operators to consider the regulatory status of virtual assets in Hong Kong, and not the regulatory status of tokens in different jurisdictions where they provide trading services.

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Dashan, co-founder of Waterdrip Capital, believes that as practitioners in mainland China, there is not much demand for “support”. As long as they are not suppressed, they can confidently do their jobs. Moreover, Hong Kong has shown a very positive attitude of support, so everyone is rushing to do business. In terms of regulation, Singapore is actually stricter than Hong Kong. “Because Hong Kong has already approved three compliant ones, but Singapore may not have any yet, all are purely virtual currency trading companies.” In his opinion, Hong Kong’s compliance protects other businesses, including asset management, because compliance is on one side and protection is on the other.

Reference: https://www.theblockbeats.info/news/42283

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