A new warning has been issued to banks from the Monetary Authority in Hong Kong, which has been moving in the opposite direction of the US and taking positive steps regarding cryptocurrencies recently. The institution informed HSBC, Standard Chartered and the Bank of China, which issue the country's currency, that cryptocurrency companies should be accepted as customers.

The financial regulator Monetary Authority (HKMA) in Hong Kong, which has made positive moves on cryptocurrencies, discussed the issue of cryptocurrencies with 3 major banks that have the right to issue the official currency of the region.

Warning was given when reluctance was seen

According to a report by the British media Financial Times; After the meeting between the parties in April, the Monetary Authority saw reluctance in banks to accept cryptocurrency exchanges and other virtual currency companies as customers. At the meeting in April, the HKMA told banks that conducting research on cryptocurrency companies should not be a burden for them.

However, in May, another meeting was held after this reluctance continued, and the HKMA informed these 3 institutions, including two major global banks, that regulated companies working with cryptocurrency should be accepted as customers.

On the other hand, Arthur Yen, deputy chairman of the regulatory authority, noted in an official statement that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) can easily become customers of banks after they are regulated.

KYC and money laundering…

The report in the Financial Times also listed the reasons behind the hesitation of such traditional banks from the crypto sector. In the news that the HKMA advised banks “not to be afraid," a person with detailed knowledge of the matter also said:

“There is a resistance to crypto from banks that work with traditional consciousness. The managers of such banks do not want to do business in crypto.”

The news also included the words of an unnamed bank manager:

“We are stuck between the fears of money laundering and KYC procedures and supporting innovation Dec.”

Standard Chartered, one of the mentioned banks, stated that they were consulting with regulators on many different issues, while HSBC expressed

interest in this newly developing field.

The Bank of China did not respond to questions from the Financial Times. #hongkong #crypto2023 #BTC #Ethereum #Binance