Crypto Trading Guidelines Expected from Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission in May

Next month, the Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission (SFC) will release guidelines for licensing cryptocurrency exchanges.

The guidelines will support trading platforms that can offer retail investors trading services starting on June 1st, according to Cointelegraph.

SFC’s CEO, Julia Leung ,stated that over 150 interested parties responded during the consultation process for the licensing regime, which took into account important factors such as regulatory requirements for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Client (KYC).

These factors were discussed in a report on February 20th that Leung was likely referring to.

Although most Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license applicants are still awaiting confirmation, some trading platforms are already providing crypto-related services to investors under the supervision of the SFC.

As reported by Reuters, OSL and Hashkey Group are among the limited number of trading platforms that have already been granted licenses by the SFC.

Despite Hong Kong's aspirations of becoming a prominent crypto hub, not every trading platform has decided to stay for the long run.

Bitget, a crypto exchange holding $1.4 trillion in assets, recently declared that it will halt services to its Hong Kong clients when the Hong Kong VASP regime becomes effective on June 1st.