While several regions across the globe were seen rolling out revised laws in order to address the emerging crypto industry, Hong Kong was seen taking a different path.
Previously, the Hong Kong government revealed that it wouldn’t ban crypto trading, but would limit it to “professional investors”. This law restricted the trading of digital assets to those whose portfolios consisted of a minimum of HK$8 million. Speaking about the same, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau [FSTB] of the city suggested that this change was “appropriate at least for the initial stage of the licensing regime.”
More recently, the Secretary of the FSTB, Christopher Hui detailed why the latest regulatory measure was important.
Hong Kong’s controversial crypto law
FSTB’s Secretary Hui recently spoke at the StartmeupHK virtual fintech summit and went on to address the financial regulator’s latest move. While the city did not outrightly ban the trading of crypto, it went on to restrict it to professional traders only. While this excluded the majority of the city’s population, Hui went on to say that this law was necessary to secure investors while also expediting progress. Hui said,
“We are of the view that a proper regulatory system could facilitate development and at the same time protect investors and adhere to international regulatory standards.”
The evolution of the crypto market stunned many. With some pocketing billions, the fan base of the crypto-verse continued to escalate.The volatile nature of the crypto industry, on the other hand, has stood out, causing even more fear among people. As governments rush to protect people from enduring major losses, Hong Kong was paved a new path.
Elaborating on the same, Hui said in his speech,
“Imposing mandatory requirements to protect investors, prohibit market manipulation, and guard against money laundering and terrorist financing, we believe the proposed regime will further facilitate development of the virtual assets industry in Hong Kong, leveraging our world-class regulatory framework.”