On December 18, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission today issued licenses to four applicants for virtual asset trading platforms under the expedited licensing process.
The four applicants for virtual asset trading platform licenses are Cloud Account Greater Bay Area Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, DFX Labs Company Limited, Hong Kong Digital Asset Trading Group Limited, and Thousand Whales Technology (BVI) Limited. The SFC is processing the remaining applications under the same expedited licensing procedure.
Dr. Yip Chi-heng, Executive Director of the Intermediaries Division of the Hong Kong SFC, stated: “We have always actively communicated with the senior management and ultimate controllers of virtual asset trading platforms. This helps us clarify the regulatory standards they should meet and expedite the licensing process for virtual asset trading platforms. We are committed to balancing the interests of investors and the sustainable development of Hong Kong's virtual asset ecosystem.”
Given the effectiveness of direct communication with the senior management and ultimate controllers of virtual asset trading platforms, the Hong Kong SFC will continue this practice when appointing external evaluators for the second phase evaluation of virtual asset trading platforms.
Specifically, the SFC will oversee the entire second phase evaluation process by signing a tripartite agreement with the virtual asset trading platforms and their external evaluators, and will lift the business scope restrictions once the SFC confirms that the second phase evaluation is complete.