Shortly after announcing the potential of enabling ordinary investors to directly invest in cryptocurrencies, Hong Kong’s authorities are allegedly working on a crypto law that would provide clear regulations to encourage the market’s evolution.
His remark comes soon after Hong Kong’s finance secretary Chen Maobo and treasury department secretary Xu Zhengyu reminded the public of the impending issuance of clear regulations on crypto assets during the October 31 opening of Hong Kong Fintech Week.
Given the presence of such platforms in Hong Kong and the potential money-laundering dangers associated with such transactions, the government, as stated by Lian Hanjing, intends to “create a licensing system for virtual asset service providers (VASPs)”.
As he continued to explain: As stated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, “any individual running a company offering virtual asset services in Hong Kong, or aggressively advertising virtual asset services to the Hong Kong public, must disclose to The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission [that] it has applied for and received a VASP license in advance, and [that it] complies with the applicable anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws and regulations.”
Liang Hanjing anticipates that the city’s Legislative Council will adopt the measure including this modification in the first quarter of 2023. He anticipates that by then, additional VASPs would request licenses from authorities, and crypto trading in Hong Kong will “bloom.”
As previously reported by Finbold, the Hong Kong government is contemplating allowing individual investors to directly invest in digital assets. With this perspective, it adopts a posture distinct from that of mainland China during the fintech migration, which gives Singapore a competitive advantage as the crypto industry’s epicentre.
Now it seems that the territory’s officials are softening their position on the sector, months after declaring that the forthcoming Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Bill will contain an amendment bringing significant financial and jail sanctions for illegal crypto firms and their promotion.
Also Read: Solana Wants To Disrupt Google And Apple With Its Innovative Smartphone
Wallets