The Silicon Review ^Asia

Hong Kong is all set to ditch its opt-in approach for the cryptocurrency trading platform and create new regulations. Countries like Singapore and Japan already have good licensing terms that require all the trading platforms of cryptocurrency to be well regulated. In 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong had launched a new regulatory framework that dedicatedly focused on trading platforms of cryptocurrency. This framework was only for assets that were officially classed as a future or security and not for tokes like bitcoins. Ashley Alder, CEO of SFC, stated that, in the current regulatory framework, if a company chooses to trade anything without the limitations, then it must operate with crypto assets that are not defined as a security under the legal paradigm.

The Hong Kong government is also on the verge of proposing a new licensing rule under the anti-money laundering legislation. According to the new rules, all the traders working with cryptocurrency must compulsorily have a license issued by SFC. There are several crypto exchanges in Hong Kong, and this includes some of the world’s largest trading platforms, but most of them are not registered for a license under the already existing power. The move to regulate was followed by various scandals and allegations around the use of cryptocurrency.