According to CoinDesk, Hong Kong's financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), has updated its policy to allow intermediaries to offer services to a wider range of clients. The change comes in response to growing interest in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and industry inquiries seeking to expand retail access. The SFC aims to enable investors to directly deposit and withdraw virtual assets to and from intermediaries with appropriate safeguards.
However, Hong Kong still wants to avoid overseas virtual-asset (VA) products, considering them complex and particularly risky. The SFC stated that complex VA-related products should only be offered to professional investors. Potential clients would need to take a one-off test to determine their investing knowledge and ensure they have sufficient net worth to assume the risks related to virtual asset trading. Intermediaries would also need to provide clients with risk disclosure statements.
Hong Kong's ambitions to become a virtual asset hub became apparent when it implemented a new regulatory regime in June, accepting applications for crypto trading platform licenses. It granted the first set of licenses in August, allowing exchanges to serve retail customers, marking a significant change after 18 months of hostility toward crypto.
