Wu Wenqian, a practicing lawyer at the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that there are three main points for a virtual asset trading platform to obtain a Hong Kong license:

First, it needs to have a capital injection of no less than HK$5 million and maintain liquid assets of no less than 12 months of operating expenses;

Second, two local Hong Kong ROs (responsible supervisors) are required to serve as executive directors of the virtual asset service provider (VASP), and these two ROs need to have three years of experience in the virtual asset industry. Other executives also need to undergo background checks by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

The third is the requirements for external evaluation, including governance and staffing, listing procedures, anti-money laundering procedures, market monitoring, etc.

Wu Wenqian believes that the most difficult part of obtaining a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong is recruiting executives who meet regulatory requirements. Hong Kong attaches great importance to the compliance of exchanges, and requires the responsible supervisor of an exchange to have three years of industry experience, preferably a compliant exchange. (Cailianshe)

According to previous reports, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission's official website published a consultation summary on the supervision of virtual asset trading platforms. The "Guidelines for Virtual Asset Trading Platform Operators" will take effect on June 1, 2023. Platform operators who are currently or intend to provide virtual asset trading-related services in Hong Kong must apply for a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. In response to the market's general concern about whether Hong Kong will open trading to retail investors on June 1, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission clearly stated that it has not yet approved any virtual asset trading platform to provide services to retail investors, and most of the existing virtual asset trading platforms accessible to the public are not regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission.