PANews reported on December 11 that Joseph Chan, Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong, stated that Hong Kong is exploring ways to expedite the licensing approval process for cryptocurrency trading platforms. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) plans to establish a 'consultative group' early next year to provide support to licensed platforms.

Since the launch of the cryptocurrency trading platform licensing system in Hong Kong in June 2023, licenses have been issued to platforms such as OSL Exchange, HashKey Exchange, and HKVAX, allowing them to provide trading services to retail investors. Additionally, the government is advancing stablecoin regulation and plans to submit relevant bills to the Legislative Council within this month, requiring all issuers of stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies to apply for licenses from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

At the same time, Hong Kong authorities plan to propose regulatory recommendations for licensing cryptocurrency asset custody services next year, further improving the regulatory framework of the cryptocurrency industry.