PANews reported on December 24 that according to Bloomberg, in 2024, Singapore issued 13 cryptocurrency licenses to a number of cryptocurrency operators, including crypto exchanges OKX and Upbit, as well as Anchorage, BitGo and GSR, more than double the number of the previous year. In contrast, the issuance of similar licenses in Hong Kong, China has been slow. Both cities are attracting digital asset companies by establishing special systems, tokenization projects and regulatory sandboxes. Local governments believe that cryptocurrencies have the potential to enhance their respective attractiveness as global business centers, but progress is uneven.
"Hong Kong is stricter in a lot of important ways in terms of its exchange regulatory regime, such as custody of customer assets, token listing and delisting policies," said Angela Ang, senior policy advisor at consultancy TRM Labs. "This could tip the scales in Singapore's favor." Hong Kong's approval process has been slower than expected, with regulators having said they intend to approve more exchanges by the end of the year. Currently, Hong Kong has fully authorized seven platforms to operate, four of which were approved (with some restrictions) on December 18. Another seven hold provisional licenses. Well-known exchanges such as OKX and Bybit have withdrawn their applications for Hong Kong licenses. Hong Kong only allows trading in the most liquid cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, prohibiting investors from trading smaller and more volatile tokens (i.e., altcoins). "The requirements to meet the profitability standard are quite high," said Roger Li, co-founder of One Satoshi, a chain of over-the-counter exchanges between cash and cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong.
