Hong Kong SFC: New licenses for virtual asset platforms

Hong Kong regulators have vowed to issue new licenses for crypto trading platforms in the country after a lengthy review process.

According to Chinese media outlet SINA Finance, Executive Director of the Intermediary Department of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Ye Zhiheng, stated that new virtual asset licenses will be issued soon. No exact date has been revealed yet, but the commissioner hints at “good news” in the first quarter of 2025.

Ye, who also serves as the Chairman of the country’s Fintech Advisory Group, said that last year the SFC inspected nearly all applicants onsite. He assured that applicants were notified directly by the SFC of the requirements they needed to fulfill in order to be eligible for a license. Crypto platforms were also given ample time to respond to the SFC’s notices throughout the review process.

However, Ye said that there is “no guarantee” that all 11 platforms will be granted licenses, due to the “regulatory red lines” they have to follow. These red lines include taking steps to ensure investor protection and security requirements, among other standards of operations.

Ye hopes that in a month or two, the SFC will be able to share some “good news.”

At the end of December, the People’s Bank of China gave credit to Hong Kong regulators for their active efforts to issue more operating licenses for crypto trading platforms. The central bank acknowledged crypto’s growing significance on a global scale as more countries race to accommodate the crypto industry through licensing and regulatory moves.

Despite promising to issue more licenses for crypto platforms in the near future, Hong Kong is still falling behind countries like Singapore which have issued twice the number of crypto licenses in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has reportedly faced regulatory hurdles which have evidently slowed down the process of issuing licenses. In October, the Hong Kong SFC estimated a new batch of crypto licenses would be approved by the end of 2024. Now, that target has been pushed back to early 2025.

In the case of operating licenses, Hong Kong divides cryptocurrency into two categories: security tokens and non-security tokens. Security tokens are governed by the licensing standards with the Hong Kong SFC’s regulatory framework. On the other hand, non-security tokens comply to the nation’s Anti-Money Laundering bill.